Love Fades, Mine Has Spirit Bound Alternative
by BelikovsRoza1697
Summary: I don't really like Rose's reaction to Dimitri saying 'Love Fades Mine Has'. This is how I think it should have gone. This story has officially ended x Please read and review! Thanks xx
1. Love Fades My Ass

**_A/N- Heyy thanks for reading this. This is my first FanFic so sorry if I get things wrong. Do you think I should continue this into a story? Please review and tell me what you think! _****_Thanks, _****_BelikovsRoza1697_**

_I shot up, now as angry and frustrated as him. I had a feeling if I stayed, we'd both snap. In an undertone, I murmured,_

'_This isn't over. I won't give up on you.'_

'_I've given up on you,' he said back, voice also soft. 'Love fades. Mine has.'_

I felt tears beginning to well up in my eyes, as I replied, voice breaking,

'Why are you doing this to me?' I saw him falter, as if he didn't want to hurt me by his answer. His arm twitched upwards but he didn't touch me. How I longed for his touch, for that electricity that filled me up and assured me that everything was going to be ok. But no. He had to carry on being stubborn. I looked up into his eyes, seeing obvious concern in them, even though my sight was blurry with tears.

'What do you mean, Roza?' he whispered, using my Russian nickname. I closed my eyes, hoping to block out all the pain that he was causing me.

'Why are you hurting me like this?' I answered, running my hand across my face, wiping some of the tears away, clearing my vision.

'It's for the best. I already hurt you so much… I want you to stay away from me… its easier and _safer_ for you that way,' he said, gently. His hands were by his side, moving every now and then, as if he wasn't sure whether or not to touch me.

'Dimitri! Just stop it!' I looked him in the eye, glaring. He stepped back, with a shocked expression on his perfect face, 'Forgive yourself! You didn't hurt me half as much as you are now!' I wasn't shouting but I wasn't quiet either; people sitting near the back pews looked around to see our little drama unfolding.

'Dimitri… I wish I'd died on that bridge….' I whispered, collapsing back onto the pew. He just stared at me, eyes widened.

'You… would prefer death to me not loving you?' he asked, confused.

'Yes...' I said, barely audible. I couldn't do it anymore. I stood up, facing him. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lissa walking into church. She noticed me almost immediately, walking slowly towards me.

_Are you pushing him again? _she questioned, quickening her pace and coming to stand next to Dimitri. She placed a hand on his arm and he looked down at her,

'Are you ok, Dimitri?' she asked, her voice sweet and gentle. His eyes were full of admiration for her,

'Yes, Princess... I'm fine… what is it? Are _you_ ok?' he answered, smiling at her. I laughed without humour. They both looked up, giving me the are-you-crazy look,

'Rose?' Dimitri asked, uncertainly. I laughed again,

'Just as long as _she's _ok. Don't worry about the crying girl over here,' I gestured to myself, rolling my eyes. Dimitri raised his eyebrow at me and I shook my head,

'I'm going to go now. I'm not going to stay where I'm not wanted,' I said, moving past Lissa and Dimitri. I started to walk towards the large wooden doors at the back of the church when I heard a familiar voice call my name. I turned around, looking up at the tall Russian who was staring at me with a gentle expression,

'Roza…..' he whispered and he lifted his hand to link it in mine. Electricity coursed through me as usual and a slight smile began to form on my lips.

'Yes?' I pressed, forcing him to continue.

'I…. I didn't know you felt that way…' he admitted. I saw Lissa far behind him, looking at the pair of us with confusion in her eyes.

'And does it change your mind?' I pushed, hoping for the answer, which I knew wouldn't come.

'It does…' he looked into my eyes and smiled one of his rare, full smiles. I couldn't believe my ears.

'Really?' my jaw dropped.

'Yes, my Roza. I didn't know you felt like that… I feel the same. I just didn't think we could work, because I had hurt you while I was Strigoi and because we can't be together. I do love you, I'm sorry for what I said. I just need… time…' he looked away from me. My broken heart joined back together and I reached up and put my arms around his neck.

'You're sure this is what you want?' I asked him, happy that he made no effort to move away from my touch or let go of my hand.

'Of course. I just thought that maybe your love for me had been affected when we were together in Russia. I love you, I never stopped. What I said was wrong and I didn't know it would affect you like that. I'm so sorry,' he confessed and he leant forward. I anticipated him and reached up, kissing his soft lips passionately. His arms wound themselves around my waist and both of us closed our eyes.

_You're together now? _Lissa said through the bond. I smiled at her happy emotions. I stood up on my tip-toes and pushed my lips harder against his. I felt him smile and pull away, placing a finger on my lips when I pouted,

'I do wish we could continue Roza, but I don't know if you've noticed, we're in a church,' he chuckled, pulling me to him and guiding me back to the pew where he sat down with me and kept his arms around my waist.

_Oh Rose, that's so sweet. _Lissa voiced in my head, as she sat down at the other end of the church, next to Christian, who had arrived in the church while Dimitri and I were talking. I lay my head on Dimitri's shoulder as the priest began to talk to the congregation. He returned the gesture by kissing my head and stroking my hair. I sighed into his shoulder, happily. He pulled my face up and skimmed his nose across my jaw-line.

'I love you. I love you. I love you,' he murmured, repeating the words like a prayer. I smiled; finally, I had my Dimitri back.

'I couldn't agree more, Comrade,' I replied, moving closer to him, so I was almost on his lap. I felt his chest vibrate as laughter shook through him,

'Why, after all this time, do you still call me that?' he asked, kissing my cheek.

'Because, I know, deep down, you love that name,' I replied, winking.

'If I do, it must be buried _very _deep...' he whispered in my ear, making me shiver. I looked around and saw that people were looking at us. I realised that not only was it an odd thing to be seen having romantic associations with those who were recently Strigoi, but also, most knew that Dimitri and I were just mentor and student. I froze, while kissing Dimitri, and slid away from him. He narrowed his eyes at me, asking that silent question. I gestured subtly to a group of Moroi women staring at us in shock. Dimitri nodded, rolling his eyes at no-one in particular. He moved towards me and whispered in my ear,

'We need to talk. Do we tell everyone about our relationship or do we keep it secret?' I laughed softly. That was the old Dimitri, always worried about something.

'I doubt we can keep it secret now that about 200 people have seen us kissing in church,' I tried to raise an eyebrow, but failed. Dimitri laughed,

'You still can't do that?' he asked, his eyes full of amusement.

'No…' I said, sheepishly. He pulled me back to him and kissed me tenderly. I pulled back and copied what he had done earlier, placing my finger over his lips. He rolled his eyes but smiled at me.

I was so happy. I finally had him back. After months of hard work and a few illegal activites, I had _my_ Dimitri Belikov back.

**A/N- Thanks! As I said, please review and tell me if I should continue this. **

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	2. Suprises

**A/N Thanks for the reviews, they were really sweet! I will be continuing this story and updating as much as possible. It's hard because I'm getting a lot of homework this year, due to early entry in exams etc. but I'll try as hard as I can. I am currently lending my Spirit Bound book (reluctantly) to a friend, so I'll have to change the arrest scene to how I remember it, sorry :). Thanks for taking time to read my story!**

**Disclaimer: Regrettably, I don't own Vampire Academy; it belongs to the amazing Richelle Mead.**

**BelikovsRoza1697**

_I was so happy. I finally had him back. After months of hard work and a few illegal activities, I had my Dimitri Belikov back. _

We sat talking and occasionally kissing in the back of the church. I blushed too, which is _very_ rare for me, as Lissa spoke to me through the bond and winked at me from across the church. Eventually, the priest ended the mass and Dimitri, his guardians, Lissa, Christian and I all exited the church. Reece stood outside with his arms folded, he approached Dimitri and I with a less irritated look in his eye. Probably because there was no sun to make him feel uncomfortable,

'Mr Belikov, I've come to tell you that you are to attend a hearing tomorrow, which will determine whether or not you will be a guardian again,' Reece declared, stepping closer. He leaned forward and whispered in Dimitri's ear. Then Reece left, walking swiftly away from our little group.

'Dimitri? What did he say?' I asked, taking his hand. Dimitri smiled at me,

'He said that I should bring as much evidence that I'm dhampir as possible,' he said, kissing my cheek.

'What will you take then?' I questioned, confused.

'Well, with your permission, I'd like to bring you.' he grinned. I blushed; smiling at his rare grins which he was using a lot more frequently now,

'Of course! I want you back as a guardian so much. It feels weird when I'm a guardian and you're not,' I said leaning back on his shoulder and looking into his eyes. He smiled, acknowledging my agreement and linked his arm through mine.

'Canteen?' he suggested and everyone nodded. As we walked, more stares were thrown our way, but I tried to ignore them as best I could.

'OMG! Do you see that Hathaway girl with that Strigoi?' I heard a voice gasp, and I felt Dimitri flinch at being labelled as a Strigoi, when, clearly, he wasn't. I lifted our joined hands and kissed his fingers,

'Don't listen to them. I mean, you can hardly blame them, a Strigoi has never been turned back before,' I grinned and I felt and saw Dimitri relax. He whispered in my ear,

'I wanted to tell you to NEVER, I repeat, NEVER do what you did for me again.' I froze, feeling slightly hurt.

'What do you mean?' I asked, looking into his eyes, which were full of love and held no sign of anger at all.

'I mean the fact that you released a known criminal into the Moroi world. Do you seriously not know how dangerous that is? I'm touched that you would do it for me, but you really shouldn't have. You could have endangered Lissa too...' he said, glancing up at Lissa and Christian who were walking ahead of us, chatting. I sighed quietly. I always knew that even if we were back together, he would still feel like he owed his whole life to Lissa after how she saved him, even though I did most of the work.

'Yes I know Dimitri,' I sighed, exasperatedly. That oddly reminded me of how Dimitri would react if I opposed him with RoseLogic. I smiled at that thought, 'Lissa wanted to help me. I didn't ask for her help.' I explained. He nodded and rolled his eyes when he thought I wasn't looking. I had the feeling that we would have another conversation about this subject _very_ soon. That gave me a thought too. Where was Victor Dashkov? And was he still with his half-brother, Robert Doru? To be honest, I really couldn't care less about what they were up to, unless they were committing crimes or trying to get to Lissa or Dimitri. And another thought: would I ever be arrested for releasing Victor? That would be totally unfair, seeing as I had literally only just got my soul mate back.

I looked up as we walked into the canteen. I sat down, Dimitri and his guardians next to me.

'Umm guys? You're awfully nice and all, but can you just leave Dimitri alone for a bit? It's not like he's going to hurt anyone…' I suggested, aiming my question at the two guardians.

'We'd love to. But I'm afraid that he has to have at least one guardian with him at all times. Not our rules, sorry,' one of the guardians said as he held up his hands in an apologetic manner.

'I'm a guardian and to be honest, not to be rude of anything, but I do have these…' I looked at Dimitri and turned around. I felt his warm hands life up my hair to expose my neck. I heard the other guardian mutter,

'Whoah… I didn't know she had that battle mark…' I laughed softly and placed my hands over Dimitri's, turning back around. I winked at him and he nodded, clearly impressed.

'See? I suppose I could count as two guardians? He won't do anything, I promise. Go and have a break, get something to eat and meet us back later,' I smiled at the two guardians and they nodded, smiling back and walking out of the canteen.

'I won't 'do anything'?' Dimitri asked, clearly amused.

'Not with me around you won't,' I winked, standing up to get some food. He let me pass and started to engage in conversation with Lissa and Christian. I got into the queue, examining my chipped nails while I waited.

'They have doughnuts AND éclairs today, Little Dhampir, whatever will you choose?' I heard a familiar voice say, with an edge of mock horror.

'Well, that's simple, Mr Ivashkov. I'll have both,' I looked up from my nails, winking at Adrian who stood next to me.

'And how will you pay for that? If I remember correctly, you told me that you had $3 in the whole world. If you have one each, that's $3.50,' he pointed out, looking smug. I faltered.

'Erm… well… I… ok maybe not then,' I said, sighing. His arms snaked around my waist and he leant down and started to kiss me passionately. I kissed him back hungrily and I felt him smile against my lips. His tongue traced the outline of my bottom lip and I opened my mouth, allowing him entrance. Our tongues battled for dominance, while his hands slowly travelled up my white blouse, touching my back gently. I sighed into his mouth and placed my hands around his neck, pulling him down to me. He pulled away, to my disappointment and pushed me forward in the queue, which had lessened considerably.

'Awww that's sweet. Don't worry, we should continue that later,' he winked at me and I shook my head.

'Not in a dream Adrian. If we're going to have sex then I want it to be official, not just something that questions reality.'

'Questions reality?' he asked, with a totally confused look on his cute face.

'Your dreams never feel real even though they are. Therefore, they question reality,' I smiled, proud of my 'scientific' explanation. Adrian still looked confused but he nodded,

'So you don't want to have sex in a dream because it doesn't feel official?' he tried to grasp the concept of what I had said.

'Yup that's it. Also, it's kind of disgusting because that means I've had a sex dream...' I wrinkled my nose in disgust and walked forward to order.

'Yes, please?' the Moroi woman asked me. I guessed she must have either been a non-Royal or a non-important-Royal. You don't get many Moroi working in shops.

'One éclair please,' I said, staring at the gorgeous chocolate doughnut sadly.

'And one doughnut too,' Adrian added, winking at me and giving the woman the money. I rolled my eyes.

'I think I've just spent all your spare change, sorry,' I said, 'But thanks,' I placed a sweet kiss on his cheek and he raised an eyebrow,

'Oh don't worry, look…' he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a thick pile of notes. I rolled my eyes,

'How much is that?' I asked him as we moved out of the queue and I sat down next to Dimitri.

'About $150…' Adrian grinned and I laughed.

'And why, pray tell, would you need that much?' I questioned, shaking my head.

'You never know. You might be kidnapped and ransomed for around $150, a spare button, my fake ID,' as he spoke he pulled out all the things he mentioned from his pocket, placing them on the table, 'and oooooh, your earrings,' he handed them to me. I took them, putting them in my ears,

'Why do you have Rose's earrings?' Dimitri asked, with a confused expression on his perfect features.

'Oh she left them in my room. I just forgot to give them back,' Adrian explained and I saw Dimitri glare at him when Adrian wasn't looking. I smiled, smugly, pleased to have Dimitri back, the _old _Dimitri, who did care about me, and clearly, wanted to have me to himself.

'Yeah _thanks_ for that Adrian,' I said rolling my eyes and inclining my head towards Dimitri who was playing with the edge of his coffee cup saucer. Adrian winked,

'Rose can I talk to you later?' he said, glancing at Dimitri, as his smile faded. I knew this was going to come too. Adrian and I were finally going to split up. It was always going to happen, but even so, I was sad. But I had Dimitri now, and perhaps now we could make a relationship; now that I had graduated. And now that I was 18, and legally an adult. Adrian stood up and I copied him,

'I need to go sleep, Rose…' Adrian said, rubbing his eyes. Now that I noticed, I saw that his eyes were red and his hair was truly messy, not 'stylishly messy' as he put it, 'I'll talk to you later ok? Meet me in my room?' he asked. I nodded. Dimitri narrowed his eyes at me and I blushed. There was an awkward silence after Adrian left and I rested my head back on the seat. I stared up at the ceiling until I heard a commotion coming from the canteen entrance. I looked up, seeing about 20 of the Royal guard,

'What's all that?' I heard Lissa say. No-one replied, especially as we were shocked that they approached out table. I knew they'd never let Dimitri be. I stood up,

'Leave him alone! He's done nothing wrong!' I shouted and they looked around me to see Dimitri. The lead guardian shook his head and pulled out a set of handcuffs,

'We're not here for him. We've come to arrest _you_,' Now I definitely knew this was coming. But I didn't know that releasing a criminal called for so many of the _Royal_ guard would come. Dimitri shot up and grabbed my waist, pulling me next to him,

'What has she done?' Dimitri questioned, I felt him tense next to me.

'Rose Hathaway, I am arresting you on suspicion for high treason. In other words, I'm arresting you for the murder of Queen Tatiana.' I froze.

'What? I didn't do that!' I screamed and Dimitri moved forward and pushed the lead guardian away as he reached for me. I sprung into action and started to fight the other guardians. I saw Dimitri doing the same. He had trained me to not only fight but to know how to injure, not kill. I didn't want to kill the guardians, god no. I just wanted to injure them so I would have time to escape. Then another thought occurred to me. That was happening a lot today. I couldn't let Dimitri ruin his reputation by trying to save me. so, I left the guardians I was fighting and I walked over to Dimitri, who was currently in a battle crouch. I pulled him up to me and turned him around to face me. His face was full of confusion. I smiled and kissed him deeply. I felt him enter the kiss but he pulled away. He gestured to the guardians who had already cuffed me.

'Stop fighting Dimitri,' we shared a look that portrayed 1000 words. He nodded and let go of me. His eyes began to fill with tears. I wanted to wipe them away, but I was restrained by cuffs. I just smiled and leant forward to kiss his face.

'Goodbye Dimitri. I love you,' was all I could say before the guardians led me away.

**A/N How's that? Please review! It makes my day :D xxxxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	3. Cells Suck

**A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating sooner but as I said, homework, friends etc…. sorry, sorry, sorry and thank you! Your reviews are so sweet and I love it thanks xxxx Also, thank you to those who added me to Favourite Author/Story Lists xx You all rock xxx **

**As always, the wonderful Richelle Mead owns the series, not me xx**

'_Goodbye Dimitri. I love you,' was all I could say before the guardians led me away._

I had been sitting in my cell for less than ten minutes, but already I was bored. I was currently humming to myself and sitting in the corner. How could _I_ have killed the Queen? I laughed bitterly at the flashback of me calling her a sanctimonious bitch. That pretty much sealed my fate. I was now labelled as the reckless, drop-out, bitchy, murderer Hathaway girl. I had just been sitting there, examining my thoughts with detail when I heard a familiar Russian voice shouting a little way off. I shot up and ran to the bars. Looking out, I saw Dimitri arguing with one of the guardians that oversaw my cell.

'Dimitri!' I called to him and he turned around to look at me.

'Roza….' I didn't hear him say that, but his lips formed the words. I smiled and extended my arm out to him through the bars. Dimitri pushed past the guardian and came to stand in front of me. He took my hand in his and kissed the fingers. His lips were warm and I wanted them against mine badly.

'What were you arguing with the guardian about?' I asked as he leant his forehead against mine, which wasn't easy through the metal bars.

'He was giving me a time limit on me visiting you,' Dimitri said with malice. His grip on my hands tightened slightly and I whispered soothingly to him.

'Don't worry. It's not like I'm going anywhere, is it?' I kissed his forehead and he smiled one of his half-smiles.

'I guess not. But still, I won't stop fighting to see you,' then an unhappy edge crept into his voice, 'and nor will your boyfriend…' I froze.

'Adrian's trying to see me too?' I asked, rubbing circles into the backs of his hands.

'Yeah. Someone woke him to tell him about his aunt, of course and they also told him that you had been arrested. He's not very happy about it surprisingly.' Dimitri smiled to himself. I rolled my eyes and lifted my hand to push the hair from his face.

'Don't be mean,' I scolded playfully, 'He has, after all, just been told that his favourite aunt has been brutally murdered and the only suspect is his girlfriend. You have to admit that he's not going to be feeling great.'

'You're right. I just don't see how anyone can be so normal, when you're in jail and there's nothing I can do about it!' Dimitri looked away, a sad expression playing on his features. I sighed and gently pulled his face to mine.

'Don't worry. I'll get out….. somehow. And then we can be together.' I smiled and he returned it, but not with the full smile I longed to see. I couldn't change his mind. No-one could.

'I'll do anything Rose. I'll do _anything___to get you back to me again. I know you didn't do this,' his face was determined and I started to get worried.

'Please don't do anything stupid. Can you at least consult me before you do anything?' I started to call out as he began to walk away, with a keen look in his brown eyes.

I didn't see Dimitri for a few days after that. Adrian had come by and compelled the guard to let him stay a few hours. That had been nice. We'd talked about our relationship and finally come to the conclusion that we would just return to being good friends. I had told him that I'd preferred it that way, anyway. He had just nodded, smiling gently, showing no signs of bitterness as he left again. I was just waking up from a short sleep on a hard and uncomfortable bed, when Lissa walked in, Abe following behind her.

'Rose!' she ran to the bars and awkwardly hugged me. I nodded,

'Hey Lissa,' I replied, smiling feebly. I had been really weak recently, through lack of sleep, food and exercise.

'Are you doing ok? Your father says that the food here isn't great, so I ordered for some of the food from the canteen to be sent up to you,' she smiled and I returned it, glancing at Abe who was smiling, his arms folded and his back against the wall.

'Yeah, it's not great. Thanks.' I tried a better smile but I ached all over. I sat cross-legged on the floor, staring at the three of them.

'So, how are you feeling?' she asked. I shrugged, making my arms throb.

'Not great. But what the hell, my trial's tomorrow and I doubt I'll be getting off, so I'll be dead in about 3 days. I won't have to worry about aches then,' I grinned to myself and Lissa flinched.

'Don't say that,' she whispered, barely audible.

'Lissa, I'm sorry I was too reckless to be your guardian. Really sorry. And tell Dimitri that I'm sorry I couldn't have come to his hearing. I'm sure they'll make him a guardian anyway,' I sighed. I saw Lissa stiffen at Dimitri's name and I narrowed my eyes at her,

'Lissa? What is it?' I questioned, leaning forward until our faces were really close together.

'Well… you see…. Dimitri's… disappeared….'she mumbled. I almost collapsed,

'WHAT?' I screamed, standing up.

'They think he's left the Court. He's not at the Academy. They're questioning the ward guardian on patrol the night Dimitri left. Maybe that'll tell us something,' she smiled gently. I couldn't believe it. He was fulfilling him promise. He wasn't going to let me be put on trial for something I didn't do. I would have been touched if I wasn't so worried out of my mind.

'Don't worry, Rose. I'm sure he's just gone to see his family or something. You know, in Russia…' Abe said, speaking for the first time. Tears began to form in my eyes,

'He's gone to go and set me free. I don't know how and I don't know when. But soon, Dimitri will have returned and I'll be released,' I muttered and Lissa drew a breath, sharply. I turned around to face her as her emotions were understanding and not at all confused as to Dimitri's disappearance.

'He said… to me… the same thing… and he mentioned something about calling in help from his friends…' Lissa whispered. Abe looked up, confused.

'How would that be bad? He's probably got loads of old friends from school… maybe he's organising a break-in with them…' I stiffened, understanding Lissa's meaning.

'She didn't say _old _friends, Abe,' I said, looking right into my father's eyes, 'Besides, Dimitri told me that he didn't have many friends at school. No, the friends he would be 'calling in'… would be….' I couldn't finish. Luckily Abe figured it out and spoke,

'They would be Strigoi…..' he whispered, but Lissa and I nodded, sadly.

'Dimitri's turning to the dark side…' I said, laughing without humour.

**A/N: Thanks! Review pleaaaaaaseeee xxxxx**


	4. Released?

**A/N: As always, the reviews were very kind and they're helping me to improve. Thank you! **

**Disclaimer: Richelle Mead own Vampire Academy, not me, even though I wish I did :D**

**Anyways, on with the story….**

'_Dimitri's turning to the dark side…' I said, laughing without humour. _

I didn't sleep at all that night. I just sat in the corner of the cell, shivering in the cold. I watched the guardians outside, who occasionally made small talk with either me or one another. They were friendly, and didn't believe that I would kill the Moroi queen. It seemed Dhampirs were more understanding than Moroi. Any Moroi I saw instantly shied away from me and whispered about how they knew all along that I was a murderer. Now I knew how Dimitri felt when he was being treated like a Strigoi. Ah, Dimitri. What the hell did he think he was doing?

Oh God how I missed him. My beautiful, caring, loyal Russian God. How could he do this to me? I'd rather die than see all my work to get him Dhampir back ruined. I sank down to my knees, praying to a God that I didn't even believe in. Please, please make Dimitri come back. That was my silent prayer for the days that followed my discovery of his disappearance.  
Three days before my trial, I was laying on my bed, staring up at the plain ceiling, wishing his warm arms would encircle me and tell me everything was going to be ok. Suddenly, a loud bang made me jump up and run to the corner, hugging my knees to my chest.  
'She's in the cell. Be careful, Belikov said she'll be scared if you're too firm,' a cold voice murmured to someone whom I was unable to see. Belikov? Dimitri? I heard footsteps approach my cell and another loud bang followed. I saw some of the cell bars fall to the floor and a tall man's figure came over to me.  
He offered me his hand, but I pressed up against the wall, distancing myself from his touch. This wasn't Dimitri, clearly, as the Strigoi, which was what this guy was, had short red hair and wasn't nearly as tall as my God.  
'Dimitri wants us to take you to him, Rose. We won't hurt you, I promise.' the Strigoi said, his eyes cunning, but showing no trace of deceit. I nodded, standing up but refusing to touch him.  
I didn't entirely believe him, because I knew he was obviously having difficulty suppressing the want to bite me. Never trust a Strigoi. One of my mottos. But what about my other motto? Always trust Dimitri. I frowned as the Strigoi, there were six of them altogether, lead me out of the Court's jail and into a waiting car.  
I was pretty surprised that nobody had spotted us, as it was the middle of the day for us and usually everyone was about. I didn't want to know how the Strigoi had avoided that problem.  
I had flexi-cuffs tied to my hands and I was shoved into the back seat of the car which was an elaborate black limo. I sat down, trying to make myself comfortable, when I noticed someone else was in the car with me. It was a figure in a dark black coat, who also wore cuffs. I stared at the person and they seemed to look back occasionally. Sadly, the windows were blacked out in the car, so the person's identity remained unknown to me, for the time being anyway.  
Many hours later, we arrived at our destination. The mysterious figure and I were forced out of the limo and marched into a forest, where we were forced to sit back-to-back on the ground. Then all six Strigoi walked away, back to the van where they drove off. I sighed, where was Dimitri? I thought the Strigoi were going to take me to him. I shifted around, suddenly uncomfortable.  
Then I remembered the person behind me.  
'Umm hello?' I started, not being able to see the person in my current position. The other person's tied hands touched my back gently as a silent greeting. I shivered, speaking in a whisper,  
'Who are you?' the person sighed and I felt them shift, as if they were trying to look around to see me. The person, who had the build of a man, touched my back again. The man's hands tried to pull my hips around to face him, but the flexi-cuffs prevented it. He tried harder this time and I heard him moan as the plastic bit into his skin. Definitely a man's groan.  
'Hey, hey, hey! Stop, you're hurting yourself!' I begged, feeling around for his hands. My fingers brushed along his wrist, feeling a wet liquid along the edge where the cuffs were. Blood.  
'You made yourself bleed. Why do you want to see me so badly?' I asked, smiling gently as the man linked our fingers together. All I got in reply were a few sounds. Pleading sounds. Sounds that tried to convey meaning. I looked up into the dark sky and sighed.

**A/N: Sorry for all my late updates! Review and tell me your ideas. Any guesses as to who the man is?  
****Thanks, I love you all as always xxx  
BelikovsRoza1697**


	5. Mystery Man

**A/N: Here goes. The mystery man is going to be identified! I'm sorry; this chapter is perhaps slightly boring. And, I also apologise for the lateness of this update, everything is so busy in my life this year :D**

**Thanks for the reviews, yet again. The more reviews I get, the quicker I write the next chapter.**

**xxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**

_'You made yourself bleed. Why do you want to see me so badly?' I asked, smiling gently as the man linked our fingers together. All I got in reply were a few sounds. Pleading sounds. Sounds that tried to convey meaning. I looked up into the dark sky and sighed._

I woke up to the sound of bird's singing. Before I had fully opened my eyes, I felt the crisp morning air brush my face and play with my hair. I had my head leant against the man's shoulder and I was surprisingly comfortable. I felt my face warming under the warm sun. I raised my head and looked down to see that my cuffs were no longer in place. I also saw that my wrists were bruised and there were angry red marks where the plastic had cut into my flesh. Some blood blisters and cuts were also present on my slightly tanned skin. I sat up and I heard a sigh from behind me. I turned around and saw that the man was still tied up. The sunlight began to shine down on us, warming my freezing cold body and revealing more of my injuries. My body ached but I managed to haul myself up into a standing position. I walked in front of the man, crouching down to his level. His level wasn't exactly low though. I saw that whoever it was, hung their head, as if they were sleeping. Perhaps he was sleeping or maybe he was just tired, like me. I reached forward and took his hands, using my sleeve to wipe away some of the blood that was there. I examined them and gently stroked at the red skin. I pushed up the sleeves of his coat and saw that there were deep gashes on his arms. I frowned. How on earth had he done this? I heard him intake a breath as I touched one cut lightly. I let go, stepping back,

'I- I'm sorry. I was just… sorry…' I apologised, feeling bad for causing him more pain. The man slowly shook some of the hair out of his face, but he didn't look up.

'Are you in pain? I'm so sorry…' the man slowly shook his head. Was he unable to talk? I knelt down and pushed some of the hair from his face. I gasped as I realised that the messy hair I was touching belonged to someone I wanted to see badly. I gently reached up and cupped the face of the man, lifting it up into the light.

Adrian.

I froze for a brief moment as his eyes looked away from my face. His perfect features were scarred, cut and bruised. I couldn't see much of his skin as red and pink blotchy patches covered the majority of his beautiful face.

'Adrian?' I whispered loudly, stroking his face and kissing his jaw. He closed his eyes and a few tears began to fall down his face. I kissed them away, running my hands through his hair. I saw that his lips were swollen and it appeared that he was unable to talk to me because of this. I stroked his lips and he looked at me with apologetic eyes,

'Rose…' he croaked, 'Rose, over there…' he gestured towards a tree nearby us. I looked over and saw a faint glint. I looked back to him in confusion, but he passed out on my shoulder. I lay him down on the ground and ran over to the shiny object. A rush of hope ran through me as I noticed a small knife hidden slightly in the undergrowth. I reached forward and grabbed it, being careful to avoid being cut by the blade. My fingers ached continually but I kept going, to save Adrian. Now I knew what he wanted me to do. He had already cut my flexi-cuffs, and now he was asking me to do the same for him. I returned to his unconscious body quickly and began to saw at the plastic ties on his hands even though my own fingers began to bleed. They snapped in two and deep gashes in his hands revealed themselves. A few tears fell down my face as I felt the approach of sleep. I lay down beside Adrian, clasping his hands tightly in mine. I heard a familiar voice in the distance, but I was so exhausted, so much in pain that the blackness of sleep swallowed me up and I heard no more.

**Sorry its so short! Please review, remember: More reviews, quicker update!**

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**BelikovsRoza1697**


	6. Coma

**A/N: I am so sorry about my late update! But my school had a few events and I seemed to be involved in all of them. Sorrryyyy. I'm trying to fit in a long chapter especially for you guys :). I took time out especially to write this for you guys, because I know the chapters have been really short recently, sorry! :)**

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**BelikovsRoza1697**

_I heard a familiar voice in the distance, but I was so exhausted, so much in pain that the blackness of sleep swallowed me up and I heard no more._

'Is she going to be ok?' that beautiful voice said. I tried to open my eyes but I couldn't move at all.

'We don't know. But hopefully, she'll make a full recovery,' a different, unfamiliar voice spoke this time. I heard Dimitri sigh and suddenly my hand felt warm. I smiled at the fact that he was still looking after me. I obviously didn't _really_ smile though, because Dimitri would have noticed. I longed to touch him, to kiss him, to talk to him, but my feebly weak body wouldn't allow it. I tried to squeeze his hand so he'd know I was listening and that I was ok, but I couldn't even do that.

'How did she respond to Lissa's treatment?' another voice added. I knew that voice too.

Adrian.

I was glad to hear his normal voice again. His pained, unhappy voice had frightened me, and I hated seeing him so defenceless. It wasn't _Adrian_. The Adrian I knew, anyway. The Adrian I knew was funny, happy-go-lucky, yet strong and independent too. What had he been doing with those Strigoi? Surely, he couldn't have been assisting them. Of course not, I thought, he was tied up as well, and beaten far worse than I had been.

'Not so great. The main wounds are healed; she's just not waking up….' Dimitri's voice drifted off and the warmness on my hand left me. Soon after, though, it was replaced by a soft touch on my cheeks. Dimitri seemed to be kissing me.

In front of Adrian.

'Belikov…' Adrian hissed, 'Alberta's coming. Stop it…' That surprised me: Adrian stopping Dimitri for the purpose of not revealing our relationship, not because he was jealous. Maybe Adrian was ok with my relationship with Dimitri? The warmth on my face disappeared and I instantly wished it was back.

'Ah, Belikov. There you are. I have been asked to just run over the details on why you left Court…' she drifted off.

'Of course…' Dimitri chuckled softly.

'Perhaps we could discuss it in my office?' she suggested and I wished that Dimitri would decline. Then I could spend some of our lost moments with him, even if I was technically unconscious.

'No, Alberta, I won't leave her side. It's my fault that she's here anyway,' Dimitri concluded. I smiled to myself, again not showing it.

'Very well,' Alberta said.

'I'd better leave you guys to it. If you need me, I'll be with Lissa,' Adrian said and I heard a door close.

'Ok then Belikov. Firstly, why and where did you go?' Alberta started.

'I went to some people that I knew,' I noticed that Dimitri avoided the first question on the motive of his departure. There was an awkward silence that followed and I felt quite uncomfortable.

'Were the people that you knew…. Strigoi?' Alberta said, quietly. Dimitri sighed and whispered back,

'Yes…'

'Why did you need to talk to them?' she pressed, and I heard the scribbling of pen on paper.

'To… escape Rose from jail. I firmly believe she didn't commit the crime she was accused of…' Dimitri's confident voice filled the room and I felt like crying with pride.

'What happened? I mean, first you were gone, then I find you carrying Rose and Adrian back to Court.' Alberta said and I heard a chair creak as she moved around in her seat. Dimitri sighed, pacing himself for what he was about to say,

'I left the Court and sought out some of the Strigoi I knew. I needed their help to break Rose from jail. I knew that their strength and ability would be perfect for the job. Looking back, I know that I endangered many lives and I apologise for she's… so important to me. They promised that they would break her out of jail and in return, I would let them take me instead,' Dimitri sighed, 'but when they did take Rose, they also took Adrian, who I believe was rescuing her as well. And they tortured them both and left them in a forest. If it wasn't for me escaping and driving back to the Court, I don't think I would have found them….' Dimitri drifted off and I wanted nothing more than to hold him in my arms and tell him that everything was ok.

'Belikov, I… need to know… why are you so attached to Rose? You've always treated her better than any other student in the school. I know she's your student, but, well, it seems like you have a connection…' Alberta said slowly and my hand suddenly became warm. Dimitri was clasping my hand like a life-line.

'I love her,' he said simply, bringing my hand up to his lips and kissing it softly. My heart leapt and I wished as much as possible to wake up. I heard a small laugh, and I recognised it as Alberta,

'I thought as much. She changed and you changed when you met one another,' I was pleasantly surprised at her reaction, as I was expecting one of absolute rage.

'She's everything to me…' I heard Dimitri mutter under his breath and Alberta clearly didn't hear as she said,

'Well, I suppose that's all. I'll plead your case at Rose's hearing as well as yours,' the chair creaked and the door closed. I felt sleep approach, and though I was exhausted, I didn't want to leave Dimitri's company. Unfortunately, my weak body finally succumbed and I felt myself slip into one of Adrian's dreams:

'_Adrian?' I called out, noticing my location as being in the hospital room. I looked down to see what Adrian had dressed me in and saw that I wore a long, flowing royal blue gown. My hair was down and it was curled beautifully. Adrian stepped into the room, wearing his usual casual clothing. He smiled at me,_

'_Have you woken up yet, Rose?' he asked, surprised to see me. I shook my head,_

'_No, but I can hear everything around me. I just can't seem to wake up….' I sighed and sat on the hospital bed that I was currently positioned on back in the real world. _

'_You heard Dimitri and Alberta's conversation?' he questioned, approaching me and taking my hands._

'_Yeah. I did. I heard most of what Dimitri did but… well… what happened?' I looked up at him and he gave me a sad smile._

'_I was on my way to break you.' Adrian simply stated and he gave a small laugh, 'But your one true love had already beaten me to it. Before I knew it, three Strigoi had captured me, and were torturing me. Lissa healed me, by the way. She tried to heal you but you seem to be in some kind of coma that she can't cure. Anyway, apparently Dimitri bargained with them that in return for freeing you, he'd let them take him and do whatever they wanted with him,' at this point I gasped, silently, 'But Strigoi being Strigoi, they released you but they dumped you in a forest with me. I don't know why the Strigoi didn't bite you though. Or me, for that matter. Anyway, Dimitri escaped and on his way back to Court, he found us. He said something like you were collapsed with exhaustion on me. And that's about it, I think.' Adrian concluded and he kissed my hands softly. I smiled, _

'_Do Strigoi have something against you, in particular?' I asked, grinning as I traced where the gashes on his arms were. _

'_Dunno, but I guess they were in an I-Hate-All-Ivashkovs mood,' he grinned back and pulled me to him, kissing my face and wrapping his arms around my waist. I returned the kiss and would my arms around his neck. I felt him smile against my lips. Then I remembered the unhappy man who was with me 24/7 in the real world, Dimitri. I pulled back and smiled,_

'_Sorry, Ivashkov but I really want to wake up now. Can you send me back please?' I asked, giving him my famous man-eater smile. He nodded quickly and kissed my cheek as I faded back into reality. _

I returned to reality and I began to beg to be woken up, but still nothing came,

'Roza, please wake up. I love you,' Dimitri's heavenly voice filled my ears and I wished that I could at least squeeze his fingers so he'd know that I was listening. Suddenly, the door banged open and Dimitri moved away from me, slightly,

'Yes?' he asked the person.

'She can hear you. I just dream-walked with her,' Adrian stated and I silently thanked him.

'That's brilliant…' Dimitri whispered in my ear, kissing the side of my face. Adrian laughed,

'Yeah I think she likes you doing that while she's comatose…' he said and Dimitri laughed quietly,

'What else did she say?'

'Oh I explained what happened to her and she said basically she can hear everything but she just can't seem to move…'

'Don't worry; I'll wait here for the rest of my life if I have to. I'll wait for you. I'm never leaving,' Dimitri whispered to me. Thank God for Adrian and his freakish dream-walking abilities.

'Anyway, I have to go, sorry,' Adrian said and the door was closed.

'I'm so glad you can hear me, Roza. It means that you'll eventually wake up. I just wish I had a way of speeding up the process,' Dimitri chuckled softly and an idea occurred to me. I needed a rush. A rush like when adrenaline junkies threw themselves off cliffs and whatnot. That should wake me up. I only wished that Adrian wasn't busy getting drunk and smoking his lungs to death. Then I could have conveyed my message to Dimitri. He would know what to do. He always did. I tried once more to squeeze his hand but I couldn't. It was like trying to move a mountain. Impossible, and totally tiring. I relaxed and instead listened to Dimitri whisper sweet nothings in my ear.

Some time later, Dimitri had fallen asleep next to me. I revelled in the comfort and love it brought to me that he would feel so at ease with me to fall asleep. Then, I felt Adrian's dream-walking approach. Perfect, I thought, this was the time when I could tell him about my new idea.

'_Heya Little Dhampir,' Adrian called from behind me. I turned around and ran right into his arms. He laughed softly and stroked my hair,_

'_Someone's eager… What's up?' he asked._

'_I have a really good idea on how to wake me up!' I almost screamed at him. He looked quite scared so I slowed down and chuckled. _

'_Really?' he didn't sound as excited as I was at this prospect. I loosened my hold on him and he noticed. He quickly picked up the conversation,_

'_That's great. I really want you back to reality. These dream-walks are taking their toll on me anyway… I almost punched a freshman…' he laughed and I grinned._

'_Well, I think I need a rush. You know, like drugs, but not like that. More…. Something that will make me excited and wake me up,' I concluded, grinning. He nodded, smiling at my flustered expression._

'_I'll tell Dimitri. He'll probably know what to do. He seems to know you better than I do….' Adrian sighed and looked away. I nodded,_

'_Yeah, thanks Adrian. Can you let me go and tell Dimitri ASAP please? I really hate staying in the same position.' I stuck my tongue out and Adrian laughed, nodding before returning me to reality._

**A/N: So how was that? Please review because the more I get, the quicker I update, honest :D**

**xxxxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	7. Waking Up To A God

**A/N: Heyy xx thanks for the reviews, I'm trying to update faster now xxx this chapter has an M Scene in it xxx the start and end will be clearly marked for those who want to skip it ;) xx**

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**BelikovsRoza1697**

'_Yeah, thanks Adrian. Can you let me go and tell Dimitri ASAP please? I really hate staying in the same position.' I stuck my tongue out and Adrian laughed, nodding before returning me to reality._

I woke up as Adrian entered the room.

'Dimitri! Wake up! I know how to wake her up!' Adrian shouted. I felt the room vibrate as he ran across the floor. I almost burst out laughing at his eagerness.

'How?' Dimitri moved away from me and his weight left the bed. This was it, Adrian was going to tell Dimitri that all I needed to wake up is a rush and then Dimitri would be clever and come up with an idea and I would wake up. It all sounded so perfect to me.

'She thinks that if she gets some kind of rush, like an endorphin rush, then she might wake up.' Adrian stated simply, and I felt my hand become warm. There was not as much electricity accompanying the touch, so I could tell that it was Adrian. I began to hear and feel pacing as Dimitri thought of how to wake me up. After a few minutes, it stopped,

'_Any_ kind of rush?' Dimitri asked and I could hear in his voice that he had an idea.

'Yup. That's what we think anyway.' I noticed that Adrian had a defensive tone in his voice when he said 'we'. It made me sad to think that he still loved me when I had plainly rejected him.

'Like… a bite from a Moroi?' Dimitri asked and I gasped, well, to myself. A bite? I certainly hadn't thought of that.

'Hey, good idea, man. I'll go ask the doctor.' Adrian said and the door closed as he left. I imagined that Adrian would want to do the deed himself, but then again, Lissa might want to too. The door opened again,

'Belikov? You want a Moroi to bite her while she's in a coma?' Doctor Olendski said, sounding far from amused.

'I don't know. We think that an endorphin rush might wake her up. I guessed that a Moroi bite would probably do the trick.' Dimitri voiced but a hint of uneasiness was present.

'There is no way that _any_ Moroi is drinking from her at all, ok? She's lost enough blood as it is. If you need her to get a rush, then think of something else.' Doctor Olendski's heavy footsteps neared the door.

'Wait! Doctor, what do you think we should do?' Dimitri called out as the door creaked open.

'Well... pardon me for being crude but I believe that Lord Ivashkov and Guardian Hathaway are dating?' she stopped as if she was unsure whether or not to carry on, 'They could have sex…' she whispered, barely audible. _That_ almost woke me up. There was no way that I was going to have sex with Adrian, not while I was with Dimitri. I guessed that she thought that an orgasm was enough of a rush to awaken me. Not a bad idea, I guess. Dimitri spoke, breaking the awkward silence,

'Ok, thank you Doctor.' the doctor left the room and Adrian let go of my hand,

'Ok, so when are you going to do it?' Adrian said, seeming really calm about this. And surely, he wasn't asking Dimitri to do it?

'I don't know. Isn't it kind of dodgy to have sex with someone in a coma?' Dimitri asked, unsure. God, this was funny.

'Yeah but she can hear and feel. She'll know.' Adrian said, still calmly. I wished I could laugh because they were just being far too serious.

'It would still feel really odd. I don't think I can do it.' Dimitri confessed.

'Dimitri, think about it. She'll be in a coma for God knows how long if you don't do it.' Adrian said. I was gobsmacked. Adrian was convincing Dimitri to have sex with me! I must have been dreaming.

'I guess. I'll do it… today. Yeah, I can do today.' Dimitri started arguing with himself. I understood his being uncomfortable. I heard Adrian laugh quietly to himself and he left the room. Dimitri stopped pacing and whispered in my ear,

'We are not, I repeat, _not_ having sex on a hospital bed. Frankly, it's disgusting.' then, as soon as he said this, I felt my body being lifted off the bed and the door closed behind us. Dimitri was carrying me somewhere. That _somewhere_ was a complete mystery to me, however. I heard mixed whispers from people nearby,

'Is that the Strigoi carrying Rose Hathaway? What the hell is he doing?' I heard one voice say. Then, the voices faded away and a door was opened. As we entered this room, I smelt the familiar aroma of my favourite perfume.

My room.

'I cannot believe I am doing this. You better wake up soon otherwise I am going to be so embarrassed.' Dimitri's voice spoke to me and I felt the soft comfort of my bed beneath me as he lay me down. I heard him sigh and I sensed the bed move as he lay beside me. I felt a touch in my hair as he wound his hands into it. He kissed me gently and I felt my heart leap. Was this it? I tried moving my arms to wind around his neck and was pleasantly surprised as they both lifted up and placed themselves around Dimitri. He smiled against my lips and I managed to open my eyes. The first thing I saw was his beautiful chocolate brown eyes and I melted into his touch. He pulled away and stroked my cheek as I pulled him closer to me.

'Good. At least I didn't have to go too far…' he grinned and pulled me back, kissing my neck.

*****Start of M Scene*****

I pulled back and lifted his shirt over his head. He returned to kissing me, progressing down my body and as he reached the hem of my hospital gown, he pulled it over my head, leaving me completely naked. I frowned and tapped his muscled chest,

'Excuse me, Dimitri. But I hardly think it's fair that you have more clothes than me.' I stuck my tongue out and he laughed, grabbing my waist and positioning me on his lap,

'Yeah, but it's not my fault that you were wearing less in the first place is it?' he copied my action, sticking his tongue out too and I shifted around, so that I was facing him. I kissed his lips passionately. I pushed him back onto the bed and started undoing the belt on his jeans. I pushed them down his legs and he kicked them off, kissing down my stomach and gently pushing me over so that he was on top. He cupped my face, kissing me. He sent me a mental question, asking for permission. I nodded and braced myself as I felt him enter me. I gasped silently at how good it felt. I had missed him. His touch, his love. How I could have ever thought that Adrian would help me forget Dimitri was a mystery to me. I gripped Dimitri's arms and closed my eyes, enjoying the climax that I was experiencing. He leaned down and kissed my face, my eyes, my nose, my cheeks. I smiled in contentment and I heard Dimitri sigh as he hit his orgasm too. He collapsed next to me, pulling me close to him. I opened my eyes and reached forward, kissing his torso. I lay back too and soon we fell into a welcome, deep sleep.

**A/N: I won't be updating till at least Wednesday as I'm going on a short holiday. How was the M scene? I kinda prefer it when Dimitri and Rose aren't total sex maniacs so that will be why it's not very steamy! Hope you liked it! Please review, it makes me really happy and it helps me improve!**

**xxxxxx**

**Have a great weekend,**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	8. The Alberta Talk

**A/N: Hey guys xx I didn't get many reviews on the last two chapters, were they not good? I would appreciate more reviews please xx Slow updates because I'm re-decorating my room :D xxx **

**I don't own Vampire Academy, everything belongs to Richelle Mead**

**Enjoy xxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**

_I lay back too and soon we fell into a welcome, deep sleep._

I woke up lying on Dimitri's bare chest. The feel of his torso rising and falling as he breathed was so heavenly. I sighed, burying my face in the crook of his neck. He moved, tightening his arms, which were positioned around my waist. I smiled and proceeded to kiss down from his temple to his shoulders. He sighed in contentment and opened his eyes.

'Hey. I'm glad to see you're still awake.' Dimitri chuckled, stroking my hip. I smiled and yawned, lying back onto the pillow. He moved his arms from my waist to my hair. He twisted a few strands in his fingers and I grinned at him.

'Yeah, I was starting to get really pissed by all that sleeping and not seeing.' I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss me. He responded by lifting me up higher onto the bed and pulling me on top of him. I glanced briefly at my bedside clock as he stroked my hair.

21:24.

'Awww, fuck!' I shouted, heaving myself out of bed and running to the bathroom.

'Roza?' I heard Dimitri's heavenly voice call.

'I have to talk to Alberta! So do you! Remember? We discussed it last night!' I was struggling to put my pants on and I hopped around the bathroom, forcing my leg into them. I wobbled slightly, crashing into the wall and sliding down to the ground. I burst into a great fit of laughter, just as Dimitri walked in.

'Umm… are you alright?' he asked, offering me his hand. I took it, grinning and carried on the great task of trying to correctly wear my jeans.

'Yeah, great thanks. I just want to be at Alberta's office early. You are going to become a guardian, even if it kills me.' I stuck my tongue out and he stared at me as if I was totally insane. Granted, I was slightly hyper from our activities that night, but still, I needed to get to Alberta. We had discussed, while lying comfortably in each other's arms, that as Dimitri had missed his hearing, we would talk to Alberta privately about him being reinstated. I was certain that as Alberta knew of us and was completely fine with the concept of our romance, she would have no doubts as to making Dimitri a guardian again. Dimitri had reluctantly agreed, not liking the fact that he would have to push himself forward. Dimitri was such a gentleman. I smiled at him and walked past him, yanking my fingers through my hair to arrange it in some kind of orderly fashion. He closed the door and I heard the shower start to operate. I jumped onto my bed and reached over the side to my phone. I typed in Alberta's office number and waited until I heard someone pick up,

'Hello? Alberta?' I started.

'Rose Hathaway?' Alberta questioned and I heard an underlying note of tiredness in her voice, along with an edge of confusion.

'Yeah, I know it's me. I woke up yesterday.' I explained and I heard her laugh softly.

'No, I knew that already. Doctor Olendski informed me. I was referring more to the fact that you're up at a reasonably early time.' I smiled and replied,

'Yeah I guess all that early-morning training has changed my body clock. Anyway, I need to talk to you. Dimitri and I need to talk to you.' I said, as Dimitri came out of the bathroom. I stared in awe at him as he passed me and he rolled his eyes, noticing me out of the corner of his eye.

'Oh sure. Yeah, I guess we do need to talk about everything. I guess Dimitri's filled you in on most of the details. I'm in my office, so I'll see you soon.' Alberta said. I smiled,

'Yeah, sounds good.' Dimitri looked up, fully dressed now, and sat next to me on the bed. He rubbed my back, as I lay across the bed, still talking to Alberta. I sighed quietly at the beautiful feeling of his touch and after a while I couldn't take it anymore. I quickly ended my conversation with Alberta, promising to be prompt in meeting her in her office. I caught Dimitri's hand as it drifted up my spine. I turned over onto my back and gently kissed his fingers. I grinned at him and he rolled his eyes, smiling as he slid his hands under my body and carried me out of my room.

'Umm Dimitri?' I looked at him, trying and failing to raise my eyebrow. He smiled at me and his face portrayed nothing but innocence. His eyes however….

'Yes, Roza?'

'Could you, ya know…. let me down, perhaps?' I laughed softly when he shook his head and started kissing down my neck. I pushed him into a wall and jumped down from his arms. I checked the corridor to see if there was anyone present. No-one.

Perfect.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and began to kiss his neck, as he lifted me back up. I hitched my legs around his waist and he chuckled. He started walking in the direction of Alberta's office. I shifted so that I faced the front. Dimitri's attention was suddenly drawn to the side as he heard something.

Just as my mother appeared.

'Fuck!' I whispered, 'Oi, Comrade, my mother at 12 o'clock!' he reacted instantly, letting me down and walking briskly ahead, as if he hadn't seen her. My mother hadn't noticed anything and she nodded in acknowledgement at him. He returned the gesture and I leant against the wall, examining my nails in great detail. She passed me,

'Rosemarie' she quickly said.

'Mom, its Rose.' I answered, rolling my eyes but not taking my eyes off my nails. I noticed that Dimitri had disappeared down the hallway, from the corner of my eye. My mom laughed and continued on her way. Once I was sure she was out of earshot, I stepped into the hallway and called out softly,

'Hey, Dimitri?'

Silence.

'Comrade?' a small amount of worry filled me. My Badass Dimitri didn't get scared off by my mom. I moved down the hallway in the direction that he passed, still hearing nothing.

I froze as long arms encircled my waist and covered my mouth.

I looked into Dimitri's playful eyes and gently pulled away the hand that was at my mouth.

'Finally decided to make an appearance then?' I teased, pushing him against the wall and kissing him fiercely. He smiled against my lips and tightened his grip on my waist. As I kissed him, I remembered how lucky I was to have this man as my sort-of boyfriend. I recalled how lucky I was that he had stuck with me even though a better girlfriend choice came along.

That, of course, was Tasha.

Suddenly, I stopped, pulling away from him. It dawned on me that I could never give him what he clearly desired.

Children.

I felt like bursting into tears and I looked up at him, trying to avoid his eyes,

'I uhh…. we... uhh… need to see Alberta remember?' I began to walk down the hallway, shoving my hands into my pockets. Evil thoughts began to cloud my mind. How was it fair that Tasha could give him what he wanted? She could offer him a safe relationship, children, money, a lavish lifestyle. And all I could give was my love. That was hardly any competition. To me, my love for him could get us through anything but his idea might be different.

I noticed that he followed behind me but made no attempt to talk to me. He was either offended by my actions or unsure whether or not I would explode at him if he tried to talk. The truth was that I would give anything to be held in his strong arms right now. I'd seen the way he looked at married couples with their children in prams. He wished he could have the same. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen if he stayed with me. Suddenly I hated Tasha for her advantage over me. How could she have what I wanted so badly?

I knocked on Alberta's door, aware of Dimitri directly behind me.

'Come in!' she called and I pushed the door open. There were two chairs in front of her oak desk and Dimitri and I sat in them.

'Well, Rose. I suppose you'd better start. What is it you wish to ask?' she smiled at me and I noticed for the first time how I had built up an almost mother-and-daughter relationship with her over the years we had been acquainted. I felt like I could tell her anything.

'Well, firstly I'd like to know why I'm not walking around with six guardians. I'm aware I was on trial for Queen Tatiana's murder?' I relaxed in my seat, the Tasha-Baby situation pushed to the back of my mind for now. Alberta looked at me with sad eyes and I cocked my head, silently asking her to tell me,

'You are no longer a suspect in her murder. We already have the murderer incarcerated,' she said, finally and I glanced at Dimitri, who held a confused expression too.

'Who is it?'

'Victor Dashkov.' Alberta said simply and Dimitri's hands tightened into fists. Probably remembering how his _saviour_ was hurt by him, an evil voice said in my mind. I ignored the voice and continued,

'You found him? Wasn't he at large?' I feigned innocence. Of course he was bloody at large, you're the one who made him that way, that nagging voice said again. Seriously, I thought your inside voices were meant to be nice.

'He was, yes. But him and his half-brother were discovered near the Academy. His DNA was taken and it was matched to some stray DNA on the stake used to kill the late Queen Tatiana.' Alberta said, clasping her hands together and leaning back in her chair.

'What will happen to his brother?' Dimitri said, speaking for the first time.

'We don't have any legal action planned. We may just let him go.' Dimitri nodded and looked at me.

'He'll be killed?' I asked shyly.

'If he's found guilty, yes.' Alberta confirmed and I nodded.

'Anything else?' she asked kindly.

'Yes, please. One more thing. When will Dimitri be reinstated as a guardian?' I smiled a weak smile at Dimitri through the corner of my eye. He smiled at me. A genuine, warm smile; one of his rarities.

'Ah yes. Well, a hearing cannot be called at the current moment as all the jurors are busy with the High Treason trial so…' Alberta drifted off, smiling still.

'Yes?' I pressed.

'Well, all you need do is prove to me that he's good enough to be a guardian and then it is my decision if he becomes so.' I grinned.

'Perfect. What do you need to do then?' Dimitri and I sat up simultaneously and I smiled at him again. He reached across the armrests and took my hand, rubbing circles into it with his thumb.

'Well, I guess I need someone who knows him well to testify. That's about it really.' Alberta looked down at our joined hands and grinned.

'I see you've picked your spokesperson, Belikov?' he nodded, raising my hand to his lips and kissing it gently.

'Ok then. So, Rose, how long have you known Dimitri?' she moved away some of her files and retrieved a pen and paper.

'Around 2 years.' I smiled and recalled all the memories of our first encounter.

'And your status is….? Be warned, this may be seen by other guardians and officials.' I nodded looking at Dimitri.

'In a relationship.' Dimitri stated.

'You're getting a little less private now, eh?' Alberta grinned and I saw her hand flit across the paper as she wrote what Dimitri said. He shrugged and started playing with my fingers.

'Right ok, on with the more important questions. So, why should Dimitri be a guardian?' Alberta looked up; smiling and bracing herself for the next part she needed to write,

'Dimitri should be a guardian because he has already been a very successful one at Saint Vladimir's Academy. I don't believe he ever faltered in his duty and he was even trusted to mentor a runaway Dhampir: myself,' at this point Dimitri and I shared a glance filled with love, 'He was turned Strigoi by no fault of his own. He was merely distracted by trying to protect the other guardians around him. Finally, as I, myself, once his student, am a guardian, surely by logic, he should be too as he continues to surpass me even to this day.' I concluded, smiling contentedly at Dimitri as he stared at me with lust-filled eyes.

'That's great, Rose. I'll look over it today and I'll tell you the result soon.' Alberta stood, shaking Dimitri's hand. We left her office and Dimitri guided me, still holding my hand, to his room.

When we arrived at his room, he led me to the balcony there. I leant on the railings and he left to get a drink. I contemplated telling him to leave me and go and live with Tasha where they could be happy and have children together, but I knew that I couldn't. I was too selfish to let him go. I'd be crying and it wouldn't work anyway. Dimitri loved me and he'd hate to leave me, I was sure.

'Roza, please tell me what's wrong. You look like you're fighting an inner battle.' Dimitri said, approaching me and handing me a cup of coffee. I sighed and took it, sipping the hot liquid gingerly.

'I was just thinking about how wrong it is that I have you when there's a much better woman who loves you,' Dimitri raised an eyebrow.

'Tasha.' I explained.

'You think I'd be unfaithful?' he seemed confused.

'No… well maybe… no. I meant more that you have a better choice of lover and yet, you stay with me, even though we battle danger and have to keep our relationship secret every day.' I tried to put it as easy as possible. He glared at me and before I could ask him why, his mouth was attacking mine with so much passion, I felt like I was going to explode. After at least two minutes, he pulled away and began kissing my neck and collarbone

'You foolish, beautiful, amazing woman.' Dimitri muttered.

'Huh?' I was still dazed by his attack.

'I would never leave you. I don't love anyone else but you. in fact, I feel slightly offended that you would think that at all.' he was playing but I still felt the need to comfort him. I cupped his face and kissed him gently.

'Come on.' I said, pulling away and leading him to his bedroom, where we had unfinished business to complete.

**A/N: You can safely say that the 'unfinished business' is… yup, sex :P. As I mentioned earlier, please review, it inspires me to write more :D.**

**Thanks to my reviewers who did comment on the last two chapters, you rock xxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	9. Compulsion's a Bitch

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I got loads and I was mega happy :D As you may have noticed, I have given the chapters names and I'll try and remember to do that for the following chapters :) My room is almost complete now, as I painted really quickly so I had time to update today :) Another M Scene today ;) don't worry, it'll be marked…**

**Anyways, on with Chapter 9…**

'_Come on.' I said, pulling away and leading him to his bedroom, where we had unfinished business to complete. _

It was around the afternoon time when Dimitri and I decided to get up. Well, mainly Dimitri's decision, as he's always the responsible one. He heaved himself out of his bed and proceeded to his bathroom. I sighed, wrapping the covers around my naked body and sitting up. He may not love Tasha but I still couldn't provide him with children. I had to admit that I was relieved by his response to my innermost thoughts. He really did love me so much that he would sacrifice his other desires for me.

'I need to go talk to Adrian, Dimitri!' I shouted, as the bathroom door was closed.

'Why?' I heard him reply and the shower stopped. I could hear a slight edge to his voice. Jealous fool, I thought.

'Awww don't worry, I'm not starting some kind of affair with him.' I smiled at the thought and Dimitri came out, with just a towel around his waist. My jaw dropped.

'I never said you were.' Dimitri said, but I could see him avoiding my eyes. I grinned,

'Yeah whatever, Comrade. Anyway, I need to say thank you to him.' I explained. Dimitri narrowed his eyes at me,

'Thank you for what, exactly?' Dimitri asked, grabbing a T-Shirt.

'He cut my cuffs when we were trapped together. Not only that, I want to catch up with him, he is my friend, y'know.' I smiled and gestured to my clothes with my head. They were lying on the floor in front of Dimitri.

'Pass me my clothes, darling.' I stuck my tongue out and Dimitri rolled his eyes.

'I'm not your slave, Rosemarie.' Dimitri replied and he walked right past the discarded clothes. I pouted and folded my arms over my chest. He came to sit with me on the bed and he kissed my forehead gently,

'Well, I don't know. I could probably _make_ you my slave.' I winked and quickly turned around and pushed him back onto the bed. He was all too eager and he wrapped his arms around me as I kissed his bare chest.

'That's very true, Roza. Unfortunately, I'm still not getting your clothes for you,' he muttered inbetween kisses. I sighed and pulled away, yanking the covers off the bed and pulling them around me as I walked to get my clothes.

'Well then, you'll have to remake your bed as punishment for your laziness.' I bent down and took my blouse and jeans off of the floor. Dimitri watched me with eyes filled with amusement and love,

'You are so crazy. I don't think I've ever met anyone who was beautiful, but equally insane,' he stated, leaving the bed and coming over to me. I stuck my tongue out at him and danced out of his reach, as he tried to hug me. He narrowed his eyes at me and as he walked forward to grab me, I ran into the bathroom with my clothes. God, it was fun to tease the hell out of my Russian.

After I had successfully managed to leave Dimitri's room without being attacked, I made my way to Adrian's room. I knocked loudly, because I knew he'd most likely be in bed after a night of partying, smoking and drinking.

'Who is it?' I heard a groggy voice mutter from within.

'It's Barney the Dinosaur' I rolled my eyes at Adrian.

'Really?' Adrian sounded far too excited.

'No, Adrian.' I sighed, 'Who the fuck do you think it is?' I was getting annoyed with Drunk Adrian.

'Oh. You ruin all my fun, Rosie-Posie.' I laughed. Maybe Drunk Adrian was actually quite fun.

'Adrian, I was joking. I_ am_ Barney the Dinosaur!' I declared and he opened the door.

'OMG! I love you soooooo much, Barney!' he hugged me tightly, kissing my hair. My eyes widened. If Adrian met Barney the Dinosaur would he really go up to him and hug and kiss the life out of him? Scary thought.

'Adrian, calm down.' I muttered and Adrian grabbed my hand and pulled me into his room. He kicked the door closed and shoved me onto his bed. He grinned and sat next to me. The smell of clove cigarettes and alcohol was heavy in the air.

'Now we're all alone. I have you all to myself, Barney.' Adrian said and a lust-filled glint appeared in his eyes. I shifted back and quickly uttered,

'Umm Dimitri knows I'm here….' Adrian wouldn't leave me alone as he proceeded to approach me.

'You're not Dimitri's anymore. You're mine.' Adrian began to kiss my neck. I cupped his face and lifted it up, looking into his eyes I said,

'Adrian, I'm Rose. Not Barney.' I laughed softly, 'I lied.'

'Nup you're Barney. I can see through your disguise.' Adrian whispered and he leaned forward to kiss me again. I quickly reacted by slapping him hard across the face.

'Are you normal now?' I questioned, gently touching the red mark that was forming on his cheek.

'Da, Rose, ma simt bine.' Adrian replied and he lifted his head up to look at me.

'What?' was he speaking in a different language now?

'Da. Rose. Ma. Simt. Bine. ' he repeated slowly, rolling his eyes.

'Adrian, I don't speak any other language besides English…' he was seriously starting to worry me.

'It's ROMANIAN!' he started clapping spasticatedly.

'And why are you speaking Romanian when you know I won't understand?' I asked, standing up.

'Because its fuuuuuun.' Adrian grinned and pulled me onto his lap. I tried to push him away but he looked into my eyes and I noticed how beautiful his eyes were.

'You want to kiss me.' Adrian's heavenly voice spoke. God, yeah I did. I looked at his lips and suddenly it dawned on me how much I wanted, no, _needed_ him to kiss me.

'Good God yes.' I leaned forward and so did Adrian. Our lips touched and although I didn't feel as much electricity as with Dimitri, I still enjoyed it immensely. I ran my tongue along his bottom lip, moaning as he opened his mouth. I licked his tongue, feeling pure ecstasy. I pushed him down onto his bed, laying on top of him and running my hands under his shirt. He allowed me to remove his top and I began to kiss his muscled chest.

'You're so beautiful Adrian….' I muttered as he started unbuttoning my blouse. It fell to the floor and I attacked his mouth, needing the feel of his lips on mine.

'Rose?' I heard a loud knocking and a worried voice say.

Dimitri.

'Oh fuck is that Dimitri?' Adrian asked, pulling me to him. I nodded, grinning.

'Hey Comrade!' I shouted.

'Shhhh!' Adrian whispered loudly in my ear. Then it occurred to me.

I was about to have sex with Adrian.

'Adrian!' I gasped, pulling my blouse back on and jumping off the bed. I answered the door once I looked presentable.

'Hey Dimitri.' I smiled, but my eyes clearly betrayed me.

'You ok? You must have been in some extreme pain… the noises you're making can be heard down the hallway…' Dimitri folded his arms and glared at me. My jaw dropped and I turned around to glare at Adrian.

'Dimitri… you don't understand… Adrian compelled me…' I sighed, gently trying to unfold his arms. He looked so hurt. His arms were stuck in their position as his glare intensified on me.

'And what did he ask you to do?' Dimitri enquired. Adrian came to stand next to me, shirt on, thank God.

'He compelled me to kiss him.' I answered, hanging my head.

'Then why were you having sex with him?' Dimitri continued. I looked up, shocked. I hadn't thought of that.

'We didn't have sex Belikov. Besides, it's none of your business, we are still dating y'know.' Adrian voiced. I looked at him, confused. I swore he came to me when I was in jail and told me that we were through. He gave me a _play-along_ look and I nodded, saying,

'Yeah….'

Dimitri didn't know that we weren't going out, so he couldn't argue with that.

'But…' Dimitri started. I knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn't confirm our secret relationship outright. Instead, he nodded, solemnly, muttering,

'Male and female interactions in dormitories aren't allowed…' then he turned around and walked down the hallway. I looked at Adrian,

'You total asshole! Why the fuck did you make me do that? Now my boyfriend thinks I cheated on him!' Adrian hung his head.

'I guess pointing out that _I'm_ your boyfriend won't help my case?' he looked up, grinning. I wanted to kill him right now,

'No you're damn right it won't! You have to tell him that you compelled me to have sex with you!' Adrian looked into my eyes,

'But he has got a point. I only compelled you to kiss me, why did you start trying to have sex with me?' God he was pushing it today.

'I….. uhh… Arghh… FUCK OFF!' I screamed, walking out and trying to seek out Dimitri.

I needed to tell him that Adrian was being an asshole and it wasn't my fault. Maybe Dimitri and Adrian were right though, why _did_ I try to have sex with Adrian? Did I still love Adrian? Was it Adrian that started more than just a kiss, or was it me? I shook my head, trying to shake the thought of me loving Adrian and not Dimitri. I turned a corner and walked right into Dimitri's back. Well, _very_ close to it anyway. He didn't notice me; he was just leaning on the wall, staring into the moonlight.

'Dimitri?' I whispered. He stiffened.

'It's me…' I almost laughed at the fact that I'd said those exact words to him when I saw him for the second time as a Dhampir, but in jail. He turned around, except his eyes weren't teary or angry. They were….

Normal.

'Yes, Rose?' he asked, his Guardian mask up, as it always was in the days when we first met.

'Umm… are you ok?' I asked, unsure about him, as I couldn't see through his mask.

'Yes I'm fine…..' he was looking at me as if I was insane.

'That thing with Adrian…. he honestly compelled me…..' I said, taking his hand.

'Don't worry about it. I'm sure he did.' Dimitri removed his hand from mine and I felt my heart break in two.

'Why are you being like this?' I asked, my eyes beginning to tear up. I didn't want to cry in front of him, but I couldn't stop.

'Like what? I just realised something that's all.'

'What did you 'realise'?' I made quotation marks with my fingers.

'I realised that technically I'd done both you and Adrian a great wrong by being romantically involved with you while Adrian was your boyfriend. I'm stopping it. You shouldn't cheat, Rose. Even _you_ should know that.' Dimitri didn't glare or show any other emotions, yet his words were dripping with venom. I raised my hand to my heart, subconsciously. I guess it was to check if it was still there. It felt like Dimitri had just ripped it out.

'He lied. We broke up while I was in jail.' I stated, struggling not to collapse with sadness.

'That's not what he thinks.'

'No, he honestly lied. He was just trying to save my ass.'

'Well, he didn't do a very good job.'

'No, all he did was make you hate me.' I leant against the wall too, wincing at my inner pain.

'I don't hate you, Rose.'

'I love you.' I wished he would respond with the same, but all he did was sigh and continue to stare up at the moon. I needed a response from him, anything at all. I reacted quickly and before he could pull away, I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him with as much passion as I could muster. He kissed me back briefly and then his stupid responsibility kicked in and he placed his hands on my hips, pushing me back gently.

'And I know you love me.' I concluded.

'If you love me, why were you having sex with someone who 'isn't' your boyfriend?' he copied me by making quotation marks too.

'I can't understand it, but I uhh…' I blushed, 'I think I kinda imagined he was you…' I whispered. Dimitri looked down at me, shock playing on his beautiful features.

'Rose,' he laughed softly, 'That's despicable…'

Thank you God, I thought. I looked up, grinning,

'Yeah it is a bit. But seriously, I think I did. You must know how perceptible I am to your kisses.' I smiled.

'I don't believe you. It works the other way around, yes. But I doubt that you'd get turned on if I kissed you.' Dimitri looked into my eyes, raising an eyebrow.

'Shall we test the theory?' I winked.

'With pleasure.' He replied, pulling me to him quick as lightning. He began to kiss down the left side of my face, running his hand down my sides, ending at my hips. I smiled and kissed his neck, wrapping my arms around his waist. I pressed myself up close to him and he drew in a deep breath.

I hated all his control.

'Come on.' I pulled away, taking his hand. I dragged him to my room. I began searching through my pockets for a key, coming up with nothing.

'Oh, does God have something against me having sex with my soul mate today?' I asked myself, remembering how I left my keys in my room. Dimitri chuckled and reached into his back pocket, producing a small silver key, identical to mine. I stared up at him incredulously,

'You have a spare key to my room?'

'I requested one. For mentor-student purposes only, of course.' he stuck his tongue out and I grinned. I used the key and entered my room. I had barely kicked the door shut when his hands pulled my body close to his; kissing me everywhere he could reach.

'Jesus Christ, I love you.' I whispered as he undid the buttons on my blouse.

'As I love you.' Dimitri muttered as he kissed the top of my chest. I sighed in pleasure, placing my hands in his beautiful hair. I pushed him onto my bed and lifted his T-Shirt off, throwing it to a corner of the room and proceeding to kiss down from his jawline to the top of his jeans. I looked up and winked at him. He got the message and removed his jeans, along with mine.

******* Start of M Scene*******

I lay on top of him, kissing his perfectly sculpted chest again and again. He smiled, kissing my hair and stroking it, lovingly. I wanted nothing more than the feel of his body on me. This was my own personal heaven. He rolled us over, kissing from the top of my chest to the top of my panties. He reached from under me, to unclasp my bra. It fell to the floor and I saw his eyes look me over with a lustful look. I grinned,

'See something you like, Comrade?' I repeated the words from a fatefully awkward situation involving me, Jesse Zeklos, a couch and the Russian God before me.

'Definitely.' Dimitri whispered, before he pushed me into the pillow, by kissing me passionately. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip, begging for entrance and I granted easily. Our tongues battled for dominance, as his hands traced my body. I felt his hands glide down my chest and stomach, before ending at my panties. He removed them and I pulled back,

'If you don't mind me asking, how many times have you had sex before me?' I questioned, playfully. He raised an eyebrow and responded simply by lifting my naked body into his arms and kissing me hard. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pushing his boxers down. He groaned as I pushed him back on the bed and lowered myself onto him. He entered me and I moaned in ecstasy. We both hit our climax at the same time, sighing and collapsing into each other's arms.

******* End of M Scene *******

'How do you make me feel like this Roza?' Dimitri asked, running his hand down my body.

'I believe the term is called 'true love'.' I grinned and kissed him gently, before getting under the covers and drifting to sleep in his warm, safe arms. Could life be any better?

**A/N: How's that? Two updates in two days :P I'll try and make this more often but I can't promise anything. Thank you for the reviews. Long or short, I don't care! As long as you took the time to critique my story, I love it :)**

**Review please xxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	10. That Odd Flower

**A/N: I only got three reviews for the last chapter :/ was it bad? **

**Thank you to **_**deliciouse**_** who is amazing! Thank you for your long reviews I love it :D **

**Also thanks to **_**Dimka's chick**_**, your review was very sweet :) **

**And finally thank you to **_**vampiresrockroza **_**I'm very grateful for you taking your time to help me improve :D**

**To all my other readers, even if you don't like my chapters or you want to suggest plots, or anything, to be honest, PLEASE REVIEW. It helps me write better and gives me incentive to write :) **

_I grinned and kissed him gently, before getting under the covers and drifting to sleep in his warm, safe arms. Could life be any better?_

When I woke up, Dimitri wasn't with me. I sat up, pulling the sheets around me for comfort, looking around the room for him.

'Dimitri?' I called. No response. That was weird, especially because he didn't leave a note. I dressed quickly and left my room. As I walked down the hallway, I heard Lissa shouting, so I stopped, knocking softly on the door,

'Liss? Is everything ok in there?' I called, quietly. The door was opened and a very angry Lissa stormed out. She nodded at me vigorously, before walking away. I walked into her room and saw Christian standing up with his arms folded,

'Christian, what happened?' I asked. He laughed,

'I don't know. She's just full of darkness I think. She just got pissed off because I didn't tell her Tasha was coming until today.' I froze.

'Tasha's coming?' I gulped, trying desperately to calm myself.

'Yup. Tomorrow. She needs to come and pick a guardian. Prince Ivashkov granted her one, because she's helping the trial proceedings for Victor Dashkov.' Christian replied.

'She's picking a guardian?' I half-screamed. Christian stared at me.

'Yeah…. that's what I said…. are you feeling ok, Rose?' he started picking up some stray items that were on the floor.

'Yeah I'm great.' I whispered, before leaving the room.

I continued down the hallway, Tasha's soon-to-be presence was worrying me. What would I do if she wanted Dimitri as her guardian? Suddenly, I felt terrible because for the first time in my life, I wished Alberta would decline Dimitri's guardian application. I stopped, leaning against the wall to steady myself. Sobs wracked through me, as I slid down the wall. I buried my head in my hands, my perfect mascara becoming smudged.

'Rose?' I heard a voice ask, weakly.

Adrian.

I looked up at him and once he saw my teary eyes, he bent down quickly and hugged me tightly. I cried into his shoulder, soaking his shirt.

'Shhhh its ok…' he muttered, soothingly, stroking my hair and kissing my face.

'Adrian… I feel so terrible….' I whispered, looking into his eyes. He stared back at me with a gentle look,

'How so? I doubt you could be terrible….' he smiled. I tried to smile back, but it was too hard.

'I wish that Dimitri won't get accepted as a guardian….' I whispered, barely audible. Adrian looked taken aback for a brief second, before regaining his composure and rubbing my back.

'That's not terrible, if you have a reason for wishing that… do you have a reason?' he asked gently, cupping my face in his soft, warm hands.

'Yeah… I guess… Tasha's coming to Court… and she's looking for a guardian…' I whispered in his ear, so no-one else would hear, although, there was no one else in the hallway except Adrian and I.

'Then there's nothing to feel terrible about. Sure, that's not a nice thought, but it's good to be jealous in a relationship. It shows that you don't want to lose him, right?' he smiled again and I realised how what he said was true. I cried fresh tears, but this time they were of joy. Adrian was a really good friend.

'Thank you, Adrian… you're amazing…' I smiled, pulling him close and hugging him tightly. He leant his chin on my head and sighed happily.

'Oh, and I'm sorry about what I said to your boyfriend last night,' he said.

'Don't worry about it, I talked to him last night and we're fine now.' I replied, pulling back and returning to leaning against the wall.

'Yeah, he said. Good that. Your… ability to….. forgive each other so easily. It's cool.' he answered.

'What do you mean 'he said'?' I asked, narrowing my eyes.

'Dimitri came to my room to talk to me this morning. I thought you knew.' Adrian stood up, resting his head on the wall.

'No, I haven't seen him this morning, I'm sure he would have told me though. He'll probably tell me when I next see him.' I assured myself more than Adrian.

'Yeah, I think he's got a shift or something.'

'Nah, he's not a guardian yet. Unless he's doing voluntary work…' I grinned. Dimitri would probably do any kind of work, no questions asked. At least his not being a guardian gave him more time with me. I sighed,

'I should probably go find him.' I need him, I silently added. Adrian nodded, looking into my eyes and communicating a feeling of understanding to me. I smiled once more, nodded and left him alone. As I walked, I considered how lucky I was to be able to have an ex-boyfriend as a friend. It didn't help however, that Dimitri wasn't altogether keen on him. Especially as Adrian continued to make sexual advances towards me. Sometimes in front of Dimitri. And that was just unfair, and I didn't like it. Dimitri was such a gentleman and he'd probably do whatever it took to protect me, as I would him. He didn't deserve to be teased constantly by Adrian touching me up. I quickened my pace, turning the corner and out of the door onto the main outside area. I squinted, trying to see better in the darkness. Though Dhampir sight was excellent, less lighting was still a problem for observation.

I slowed to a stroll, passing by the Dhampir dormitories. The flowers that filled the outside area were nocturnal bloomers, so not only were their petals visible, they were also much prettier than day blooming plants. I knelt near a patch of soil, gently pulling a red flower out of the ground. Not a rose, of course. I wasn't a flower expert, so all I could say was that it was red, small but with many petals and very pretty. I lifted it to my nose, inhaling its scent deeply. I was overcome with a great feeling of euphoria. I wanted to keep hold of the sweet-smelling plant forever. I smiled and for the first time in my life, I wasn't worried about anything. I had a loving soul mate, a good best friend, a loyal group of friends and Victor Dashkov was no longer a risk to us.

Suddenly, amazing scenes flashed before my eyes. Dimitri and I on our wedding day; Dimitri looking sexy as ever in a black suit and next to him, me looking beautiful with my hair perfect and wearing a long flowing white gown. Another scene passed; me in a hospital, holding a tiny, tanned baby in my slender arms. Dimitri sat on the corner of the hospital bed, clasping the baby's hand and mine. A final image appeared; an aged Dimitri and I holding hands on a porch in bright sunlight. The images faded out and I was left in campus, holding the flower close to my chest. A single tear left my eye and landed on the petals. Though, what emotion that tear beheld was a mystery to me. I stood up, taking the red flower with me. I looked around, desperately trying to find Dimitri. I needed him to complete my happiness.

The flower in my hand suddenly felt warm. I raised my hand up to inspect the flower. I moved to the left and the warmth dimmed, but when I moved straight ahead, the red plant heated. I followed this pattern and lo and behold, the flower was burning hot when I found Dimitri standing in front of the wards. I smiled at how the bloom had led me to my true love. I didn't want to release the flower, because it felt like part of me now, so I called out,

'Dimitri?' he turned around and smiled gently. It was a half-smile, unfortunately.

'Hey, Rose,' he replied. I beckoned him over to me as a conversation from a distance was slightly awkward.

'You look happy, something good happened?' he enquired, walking over to me and stopping once he was as close as possible to my body.

'Very.' I grinned and he reached out to take my hand. The hand he chose to hold, though, had the flower in it. As it was, the flower was red hot in my hand at Dimitri's proximity. Dimitri touched the petals gently, and recoiled slightly when his fingers encountered the heat,

'Did you have that flower on a space heater or something?' he asked, his expression confused.

'I don't know. I found it on campus, near the Moroi dorms. Isn't it beautiful?' I grinned, staring in wonder at its perfection. Dimitri nodded,

'Yeah… I know what you mean. It's beautiful in not just appearance… but it's like it has its very own aura….' he whispered. He touched the petals again, not wincing in pain as I felt like doing,

'Why is it so hot?' he muttered. I think it was meant to be a rhetorical question but I answered it anyway,

'When I'm close to you, it gets hot. The further away I am from you, the colder it is.'

'Are you sure about that?' he asked, looking at me.

'I don't know. Try it for yourself.' I suggested and he nodded. He took it from me, clasping it in his hand. Suddenly, his expression was one of awe and his eyes seemed to glaze over. It was only for a brief minute or two, and once he regained his composure he stared at me.

'What is it?' I questioned.

'Uhh… nothing…' he shook his head, as if he was trying to get rid of some memory.

'No, Dimitri, tell me.' I pressed and he nodded slowly,

'I think I kinda had a vision,' he blushed, 'I saw us… together… getting married… having children…. growing old together….' he looked away. I grinned,

'Me too! How weird is that?' he looked into my eyes and grinned back.

'That's so cool. God, I love you Roza….' he leaned into my and whispered in my ear. He was about to kiss me when a voice interrupted us.

'Belikov! Guardian Hathaway! We need you!' it was Alberta. She walked briskly over to us.

'What is it, Guardian Petrov?' Dimitri asked, his eyes losing their glazed over look and returning to the beautiful chocolate brown that usually dominated them.

'Terrible news. We'll need every trained guardian or Moroi to help us…' Alberta looked down and shook her head in what looked like disgust. Whatever had happened had clearly ruined her happy mood that Dimitri and I had seen earlier. A number of bad things popped into my mind, scaring me. Any of my friends dead or hurt. A Strigoi attack. Another Royal death. I looked at Alberta expectantly,

'Please Alberta, what's wrong? What's happened that's so bad?' Dimitri looked down at me and we shared a look of worry. I imagine he was probably speculating about the same ideas that I had been.

'Victor Dashkov…. he's escaped. The Queen's murderer has escaped and no-one can find him….' she whispered, barely audible.

Oh shit.

**A/N: Not as long as the last two chapters, but I haven't been very motivated to write due to the lack of feedback. I won't be able to update as much soon, as school starts up again. But from today till Sunday-Monday, I won't be able to update every day. So, please, please review! I don't care whether its to say I'm a crap writer or a legendary author! I just want feedback :) **

**Sorry to moan, but I need reviews please,**

**BelikovsRoza1697 xxxxxx**


	11. Desire

**A/N: Wow! Thank you so much! I got 11 reviews! I love you guys xxx I'd really appreciate it if you could keep that amount up please xxxxxx A slightly shorter chapter today but I'm hoping to update again either today or tomorrow xxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**

Dimitri and I both moved at the same time.  
'How did it happen? There's meant to be maximum security in that cell,' I asked. My ever-worrying problems returned to me as the flower's euphoric effects began to wear off. I frowned.  
'The guards have clearly been compelled, and they're specially trained to be compulsion-resistant. So it must mean that a spirit user helped him escape. He had an accomplice.' Alberta concluded, staring at me, silently asking me if I had ideas.  
'That means our suspects are, Princess Vasilisa Dragomir and Lord Adrian Ivashkov.' Dimitri voiced.  
'And one other. Robert Doru, Victor's half-brother. He's the illegitimate son of Victor's father. He is a spirit user and he adores Victor. I think our prime suspect is Robert.' I added, looking at Dimitri, and communicating silently that Robert was the reason he was Dhampir again. He nodded briefly, understanding the message.  
'Come with me to the cells and take a look yourself.' Alberta turned and we followed her. The flower left Dimitri's hand and I left it lying on the ground as we ran to the prison cells.

Once we arrived, Alberta suggested that we look around for evidence of an accomplice. Dimitri and I were both touchy about entering the cell Victor was in, as we had both inhabited it before him. Dimitri stepped inside first and looked back with soft eyes at me,  
'Come on Rose. Forget about that time.' he whispered and I nodded. I sucked in a deep breath and followed him inside. He smiled weakly at me and took my hand, instantly making electricity coarse through my veins. There were many guardians already in the cell and it's vicinity, taking swabs off of suspects and collecting pieces of evidence in clear bags. I led Dimitri to a corner, bending down I noticed that there was a small piece of metal embedded in the wall. That itself wasn't the odd thing I noticed, but I did see a small piece of cloth stuck on the metal.  
'Hey... Dimitri, look...' I gestured to my find. I heard him mutter something in Russian and he leant forward and took the cloth off. I turned around as he examined it. I looked at it as well and a feeling of realisation came over me.  
'Dimitri... Robert had a shirt on with that material.' I remembered. Dimitri looked at me and wrapped an arm around my waist. I felt so weak and defenceless. Robert and Victor were on the loose and it was my entire fault.  
'If I hadn't broken them out... none of this would have happened.' I whispered into his neck. He kissed my hair,  
'We need to tell Alberta...' he muttered and I nodded. I followed him as he approached Alberta. He showed her the cloth and explained what I had said. While he did so, I went into Lissa's head.

_'Lissa!' Lissa heard someone call her. She was feeling bad after getting angry at Christian for no reason so she had gone to clear her head outside near the wards. She sat up from her position on the grass and turned around. To her delight and surprise it was Christian. She smiled,  
'Hey Christian. Look I'm sorry about-' she started but he cut her off.  
Don't worry about that now. I love you and I forgive you. I came to tell you that Victor's escaped from jail!' Lissa's jaw dropped open.  
'He's escaped?' she could hardly believe it.  
'They think he was released by a Spirit user, so Adrian is one of their suspects. As well as...' Christian couldn't finish. Instead he kneeled down and held Lissa close.  
'Me...' Lissa finished for him and he nodded sadly.  
'I didn't... I wouldn't... honest Christian...' she began to sob into his shoulder. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead.  
'I know you didn't. You hate Victor. Look, just be careful ok? I'd stay away from guardians if I were you. Don't run away but just try and avoid them. I don't want you arrested or anything.' Christian advised and Lissa nodded._

Returning back to my own mind, I saw that I was in Dimitri's arms and he was whispering things in Russian to me. I also noticed that I was crying.  
'Dimitri... the guardians have named Lissa and Adrian as suspects. We need to find Victor and Robert. Then Lissa and Adrian can be proved innocent.' I whispered back and he nodded.  
'We might not need to find them. That material is evidence enough to say they're guilty. But you're right; I imagine Victor is trying to get to Lissa so he can use her to get to power.' Dimitri replied.  
'Who is the current ruler?'  
'Prince Ivashkov.'  
'We need to talk to him.' I said and Dimitri nodded in agreement.  
'Don't worry. I have already told the Royal Guard and they're informing him as we speak.' Alberta voiced, coming to stand with us. I let go of Dimitri and he did likewise. I felt rage toward Alberta, how could she have considered Adrian and Lissa as suspects?  
'Guardian Petrov, how could you possibly assume that Vasilisa Dragomir and Adrian Ivashkov released Victor? They're about the two least possible people to commit such a crime!' I glared at her and her guardian mask made an appearance.  
'You should know to suspect everyone in a case this serious, Guardian Hathaway.' she said simply. Dimitri pulled me away from her, muttering an apology to her. I glared at him,  
'What the fuck are you doing, Dimitri?' I was so angry at everything right now.  
'I wish you'd stop taking Lissa's darkness.' Dimitri said simply, grabbing hold of my arms. I must have subconsciously taken some of Lissa's darkness. Her angst worried me. I wanted to make her feel better. I still felt a great rage though.  
Seriously, Dimitri, just because you love me doesn't mean that you have clearance to tell me what to do.' I stated and I turned away. I felt him grab my face and pull me to him. He kissed me passionately and as the kiss progressed, I felt 'the darkness being focused on the kiss and not my surroundings. Once all of it had drained out of me, I began to kiss him back, tangling my hands in his beautiful hair. He pulled away and raised an eyebrow.  
'I think I deserve an award. That's twice I've managed to dissipate your darkness.' I grinned and he copied.  
'You deserve an award for a lot of things. But yeah, thank you,' I kissed him again and before he could further it, I pulled back and took his hand.  
'Ah Belikov, Guardian Hathaway.' I turned around and saw a member of the Royal Guard approaching, 'You can return to whatever you were doing before now. Your evidence needs to be tested and we don't need your help for that.' I nodded and Dimitri and I left and went to my room. We sat on my bed, talking and occasionally kissing.  
'I can't believe I let this happen.' I whispered. Dimitri smoothed my hair,  
'Well, not to be rude or anything, but if you hadn't, I wouldn't be with you now. Unless for some reason I preferred helping my enemies.' I heard him chuckle and I laughed too.  
'Yeah that's true. One excellent thing came out of what I did.' I considered and he nodded.  
'Excellent might be going slightly far but yes, I know what you mean.' I heard a knock on the door and I left the bed. I opened the door to a dhampir, who had blonde hair and was around my age, perhaps older,  
'A package for you, Guardian Hathaway.' I nodded and took the brown envelope that he handed me, closing the door. I returned to the bed and Dimitri's hands wound around my waist. I emptied the package into my hand. A single object fell into my palm.  
The red flower.  
As soon as it touched my hand, the burning feel that accompanied Dimitri's presence returned. I gasped, it's beautiful visions came back, filling me with happiness. I smiled, handing it to Dimitri. He took it and that glazed over look filled his eyes. I suddenly needed his touch badly, as if it was the key to my existence.  
'Oh God Dimitri... I need you...' I whispered and he leant forward and captured my lips in a passionate kiss. I had never felt this way before. We were pressed up together as close as possible. It still wasn't close enough, however. I pushed him back onto my bed, running my hands under his shirt and feeling his muscled chest. He groaned quietly into my mouth and that made me even more needy for his touch. I pulled his shirt over his head and he copied, unbuttoning my blouse. All of this time, we never broke the kiss. I needed his touch, his love so badly. I was aware of an odd sound outside my room, but it didn't matter. Dimitri was my focus and I was his. He pulled me close, kissing down my neck and stomach. I gasped and cupped his face in my hands, kissing him everywhere I could reach. I noticed that the flower glowed dimly in Dimitri's hand but soon it was forgotten, as our concern was for each other. I saw it fall to the floor before I was consumed by another passionate kiss. Love and lust were my only emotions now. And both of those were focused on the beautiful person who was with me now. _Don't ever leave him again_, a voice said in my head. It resembled a voice I had heard another time while I was with Dimitri, but I couldn't figure out from where I'd heard it. No, I didn't WANT to wonder about it. I just wanted Dimitri and to stay with him. That was all that mattered now.

**A/N: So, what do you think? Reviewwwww xxxxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	12. Victor: Is this the end?

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm sorry that I couldn't update when I said I would but I had to stay at my grandparents unexpectedly. Hopefully your speculations will be answered in this chapter…..**

_I just wanted Dimitri and to stay with him. That was all that mattered now._

**Lissa's Point of View**

I was in my room with Christian, who had suggested that I stay in my dorm, to 'hide' from the guardians. I looked at Christian in wonder. I was so lucky to have such a caring boyfriend by my side. He was risking his not-so-great reputation to make sure I stayed out of jail. His arms twisted around my waist, pulling me closer and I lay my head on his chest. Suddenly, there was a tapping on my window. The window faced the outside of campus and the wards. You could see the forest outside of the wards and it was a beautiful sight in the evening when the sun rose, peeking through the branches and shining on the dark undergrowth. The window was currently covered by a purple curtain, which shielded Christian and I from the moonlight.

'I'll have a look, Liss. Don't worry.' Christian whispered, reassuringly in my ear. My heart rate had already heightened and I was breathing heavily, without knowing it. I knew that it was probably just a tree branch tapping against the pane's glass, but my subconscious told me that it was a guardian who was just waiting for the right move to capture me. I wished Rose was here as well as Christian. She could comfort me by telling me that my ideas were stupid. I was surprised that she wasn't here already. I had no mental block up; in fact I had called to her several times to ask for her presence in my room. I scolded myself for thinking that she was my personal servant, who would come running whenever I called. She wasn't a slave, she was a free person; the fact that she was soon to become my guardian had no bearing on the situation at all. I just thought that maybe she would be listening out for me. It was certain that she would know about Victor's escape. In fact, she was probably helping them figure out how to catch him.

I watched as Christian approached the window, not scared at all. He pulled the curtain back and wrapped the rope around the material. I gulped and watched carefully as Christian opened the window right out. He leaned over and looked out to the area below. He pulled back and turned to me,

'I don't think there's anyone there…' he said, folding his arms.

And then someone climbed in through the window behind him.

'Christian! Behind you!' I screamed, but it was too late. The man hit my love around the back of the head and Christian fell to the floor. I gasped and tears began to pour out of my eyes. I glanced at the man and through my blurry vision, I managed to identify Christian's attacker.

Victor.

I leapt off of my bed and ran to the door, practically screaming at Rose through the bond. I fumbled with the lock, damning my reasoning which caused me to lock it in the first place. i could hear Victor approaching me.

'Princess….' he whispered mockingly. I unlocked the door successfully and flung it open

'Fuck off!' I screamed back, not daring to look behind me as I ran down the hallway. I cursed, thinking that I probably should have closed the door behind me, to cause a small obstacle for him. I had to assure myself that there was nothing I could do. I just focused on pushing myself as fast as I could to Rose's room. I could hear Victor's heavy panting behind me as he was still weak from his disease.

Once I reached Rose's room, I began to pound loudly on the door.

'Rose! Victor's after me! Help me! For God's sake, come out! I know you're in there! I can hear you!' I screamed helplessly. I knew that it probably wasn't a good idea to shout as it was alerting Victor to my presence, but I needed Rose to help me. There was a good chance that Dimitri was with her, so that would mean that they could fight Victor off, while I got more help. One weak, sick man against two young, trained fighters. Victor wouldn't stand a chance. I quietened down as I heard Rose move around inside her room. She was talking to someone. I pressed my ear against the wood of the door, also keeping an eye on the hallway, in case Victor made an appearance,

'Dimitri…. I love you and I don't want to leave you….. but I keep thinking there's something I need to do….' I heard her say. I discovered that Dimitri was in her room with her, as he replied,

'Yes, Roza… I know…. I can feel something abnormal too….' I heard him sigh. I banged hard again on the door. Then it occurred to me to try the door knob. I turned it, but all that occurred was a click of the locked door.

The door was locked.

I groaned in anger and ran back the way I came. I noticed Victor still running and panting to catch up with me, but I ignored him, trying to focus on escaping. How could Rose think having sex with Dimitri was more important than helping me run away from a psychomaniac who wants me to help fuel his twisted plan to 'help the people'? I pushed my anger for her out of my mind and concentrated on finding a guardian to help me. As if some god had answered my prayers, Guardian Alberta Petrov appeared around the corner.

'Guardian Petrov! Help me! Victor Dashkov has escaped and he's after me right now!' I turned around and saw that Victor had caught up with me and was only a few metres away from me. Alberta ran to me and yanked on my arm, pulling me close to her. She pulled out her stake and approached Victor. Tears were pouring freely down my face and I clutched Alberta's jacket for dear life.

'Victor Dashkov, I have been given permission to kill you if necessary. Either give yourself up willingly or I _will_ kill you!' she cornered him and aimed her stake at his heart, stressing her point further.

'Never! My release is for the good of the people! You-' he started and Alberta silenced him by plunging the stake deep into his chest and twisting upwards. He gasped and looked at the stake before his eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped to the ground, dead. I burst into tears and Alberta rushed to me,

'Princess! Where is your guardian?' she urged, cupping my face and wiping my tears away with the pads of her thumbs. I looked away, scared to incriminate Dimitri and Rose. But the anger I felt from earlier resurfaced and I looked back at her,

'Guardian Rose Hathaway is in her room.' I stated but before Alberta moved to find her, I added, 'with Dimitri Belikov.'

'_With_ Dimitri Belikov?' I nodded and she frowned.

'Did you attempt to contact her on the way through your escape route?' she questioned and I nodded.

'Yes, the door was locked, I screamed but they were non-responsive. They wouldn't open the door. They were having sex, Guardian Petrov.' I felt terrible for telling Alberta but it needed to be done.

'Thank you, Princess.' she gestured to a guardian that had appeared behind me, 'Take her back Guardian Alto. I'll go talk to Hathaway and Belikov.'

I followed Stan Alto as he took me to the Court clinic. I told him about Christian and he managed to take him to the clinic too. Luckily, Christian's only ailment was a bad concussion which meant that he would be out for a few hours. I took my place in a seat near his bed and held onto his hand, hoping that Rose wouldn't hate me too much.

**A/N: This is short because Lissa doesn't see as much action at the moment. What do you think Alberta's going to say to Rose and Dimitri when she catches them in Rose's room? The next update should be very soon xxxxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	13. Leaving

**A/N: Hey! Late update because I was ill for a bit :( anyways, on with the next chapter...**

_I took my place in a seat near his bed and held onto his hand, hoping that Rose wouldn't hate me too much._

**Rose's Point of View**

Dimitri and I were asleep on my bed and I was dreaming. I dreamt about him, mainly. I saw his beautiful face, his piercing brown eyes, his gorgeous chin-length hair. We were together, on a field in bright sunlight, which was odd since I was used to a vampiric schedule. I never saw myself; I _was_ myself in this dream. As I smiled at him, I noticed a small red flower in the corner of my eye. It held no interest to me, yet still I liked it's appearance. The scene changed and I saw the Academy. Outside my dorm, to be exact. I wasn't here and nor was Dimitri, but Lissa was. She looked frantic, banging roughly on my door, screaming for help. Everything was muted, so I didn't hear what she was saying. Again, the red flower appeared, behind her. It was sprouting, oddly, out of the carpet of the hallway. I didn't seem to be a character in this dream; instead I was an invisible, omnipresent figure.

I was awakened to a rough shake and as I opened my eyes, I suddenly came back to reality.

Oh shit.

Dimitri and I had just succumbed to another lust charm. Lissa had called to me in her hour of need and I had ignored her, instead continuing to give my everything to Dimitri. I saw Alberta standing over me, looking unbelievably pissed off.

'Hey…' I started, smiling, 'This doesn't look so good, does it?' I looked at Dimitri who was standing away from me, in the corner, fully dressed, thank God.

'No, Rose, not at all. Vasilisa Dragomir has just been admitted to the clinic. She's not injured but her boyfriend, Lord Ozera is. She came to her guardians for help, and they deserted her, to continue to engage in sexual intercourse instead!' Pissed off was an understatement. She was totally _crazy_. I blushed and Dimitri's guardian mask appeared.

'It was a lust charm, Guardian Petrov!' I blurted out and reached down to grab the suspicious flower that filled my mind every waking moment. As soon as my fingers brushed the petals, the animalistic feeling swept over me again and I reached out for Dimitri. He glanced at Alberta and she nodded, looking concerned. I let go of the flower and lay back on the bed, the covers wrapped around me tightly.

'Can I at least hold her?' I heard Dimitri ask, and Alberta must have nodded because I felt his strong arms wrapped around me. I cried into his shoulder. Now, I'm not one for tears, but I knew that we could both lose our jobs for this.

'A lust charm?' Alberta asked and Dimitri nodded. She approached me and examined the flower, by picking it up using the sweater that lay on my bed, as protection for her hand.

'This isn't any kind of flower that I've seen before…' she whispered and she lifted it to her face, sniffing it. I looked at her with confusion filling my features.

'You're right. This is a lust charm. It has the aroma of what my favourite smell is. All lust charms do. It's to attract you to them.' Alberta explained and I let go of a breath that I must have been holding. I filled my lungs with air again, ready to hear Alberta's opinion.

'What will happen to us, Alberta?' I said in a small voice. I knew I slipped up, meaning to call her by her formal name, but I was so worried that we were going to be sacked, that I forgot.

'I can either report this to the Guardian council, therefore the Queen too, or….' she glanced at Dimitri and continued, 'I can punish you myself. That punishment can only be one thing. It would mean that Dimitri would not be allowed to become a guardian. Guardians are dropped if, while they are being considered, they get into trouble.' she concluded her speech and stood up.

'It's your decision. Both of you reported or no guardianship for Dimitri?' she waited patiently as I looked at Dimitri for help. He looked back with his guardian mask fully in place,

'I won't let you lose your job for me…. but I don't want us both in trouble.' I said, glancing at Alberta. She seemed to be thinking about something else and she avoided my gaze. Dimitri also avoided my eyes, clearly not wanting to argue one way or another. I sighed,

'Did Lissa tell you?' I asked, quietly, hoping her answer would be negative.

'Yes.' she said simply. I felt like my heart had broken. I had been betrayed. And who better to do it than my best friend?

I didn't hate her, I didn't feel anything. I felt numb, as if I was neither alive nor dead.

'What happened?' Dimitri and I asked at the same time. I smiled weakly at him and his arm tightened around my waist.

'Lord Ozera and her were attacked in her room by an intruder who entered through the window. He hit Lord Ozera around the back of the head, causing him to black out and Princess Dragomir exited her room. She ran to your room to alert you and Belikov, but you were…. busy. She then ran again, unsure of where to go, with Victor Dashkov chasing her all the while. She found me and I staked Mr Dashkov. I enquired as to where her guardians were and she told me her story. I then sent her and Lord Ozera to the clinic, where I believe they still are now.' Alberta finished and I nodded, thoroughly ashamed. I still felt a small anger at Lissa for telling Alberta on me and Dimitri. Though, I knew I was being stupid. Lissa had a hard decision to make and she chose what was best for her reputation. She could hardly say to Alberta that she came to us and ran away when we offered her help, which we clearly didn't provide.

'I see.' I sighed, reaching down under my bed, where I kept a spare sweater and pants. I put them on, standing up and walking over to Alberta. Leaning in and whispering in her ear, I said,

'If I left Court, alone, would it make a difference?' she pulled back and looked at me startled.

'Yes, I imagine so, but I thought-' I cut her off by giving her a look not to say it out loud. She agreed silently and I added, out loud so Dimitri could hear,

'Dimitri would still become a guardian?'

'Yes, he would.'

'Then, that is what I'll do.' I nodded to myself and Alberta nodded too.

'Can you arrange me somewhere….?' I left off, obviously confusing Dimitri. Alberta understood and nodded,

'Somewhere in Russia, perhaps. You performed excellently there when you were… away.'

'Roza what are you doing?' Dimitri asked, confused. He stood up and took my hand, squeezing my cold fingers.

'I'm leaving. I'm sorry, but it's the only way to fix this, I'm leaving.' I whispered, barely audible. Dimitri didn't hear everything I said but he seemed to get the gist of what was happening.

'You're leaving? No! I won't become a guardian! Please don't leave Rose! We can fix this some other way!' he started begging me, gripping my hands. A few tears escaped my eyes and I nodded, stroking his cheek.

'I'm sorry. I'm leaving. I promise I'll see you again, I promise.' I smiled and he seemed to take some comfort in my words. I left the room and Alberta said,

'You won't see him again will you? That was a lie.' I nodded.

I'd never see Dimitri Belikov again.

**AN sorry its short but I don't feel very well **** Reviewwww**


	14. The Dimitri Decision

**A/N: Here's Chapter 14! Hope you like it xxxxx**

_I'd never see Dimitri Belikov again._

After talking to Alberta and Dimitri, I left the Dhampir dorms and went outside for some air. I sat on the grass and stared up at the sky, which held the beginnings of a sunrise. I sighed, today would be the last day I would spend at the Academy. I had to leave as soon as possible; otherwise, knowing me, I would change my mind and stay with Dimitri. Oh, how I wished I could stay with my soul mate. It was like I was killing a part of myself by saying I was leaving.  
Laying back on the grass, I heard the approach of footsteps. Dimitri's training taught me to identify things by their sounds and smells, so I knew by the heaviness of the footsteps and the aroma of a familiar aftershave that Dimitri had arrived.  
'Hey Comrade, how's it hanging?' I asked, typical Rose-fashion.  
'Don't joke around, Rose, this is serious.' he said, no hint of playfulness in his tone. He didn't join me on the grass, choosing instead to stand just above where my head was. I tilted my head back, subtly, on the grass, looking at him. I studied his composure, his features, his looks. This would be the last time I would see him.  
'I know.' I stated, watching as he folded his arms. He opened his mouth as if to say something but thought better of it and closed it again.  
'Comrade, don't worry. I'll be safe; I'll be fine. I'll just be somewhere else, that's all.' I sat up, turning around to face him. He raised an eyebrow,  
'You're not safe unless you're with me,' he muttered. My jaw dropped and I instantly answered,  
'That's bullshit.' I replied simply, bringing my knees up to my chest and hugging them close to my body.  
'Excuse me?' he asked, brought out of his reverie and into the real world.  
'I survived without you before I met you. When I was with Lissa I was fine. We never got injured.' I stood up to face him.  
'You got lucky.' he shrugged.  
'And while I was in Russia? I didn't get turned; I didn't die.' the words just came out before I could stop them. It was a touchy subject for him, and I'd just made his healing process all for nothing. He looked at me, shocked for a brief moment, before his guardian mask made an appearance.  
'You did get hurt though. You were close to being turned. _Very_ close.' the way he stressed his words made me want to hold him in my arms and apologise so badly, but I knew it would make me stay.  
'Your attitude now makes me think you don't really care, Dimitri.' I said, walking past him. His hand shot out and he grabbed my arm tightly. He yanked me back to face him.  
Don't ever say that. I'll always care! I'm just annoyed that you're giving up! I thought you wanted to stay with me!' his eyes threatened to spill tears but his guardian mask stayed put.  
'I do want to stay but our relationship can never work, Dimitri! I always wanted to grow up to be a guardian! Lissa's guardian! I never thought _love_ would come into it! It's an unplanned factor!' I shouted, trying to free my arm from his grip. He just pulled me close to him, kissing me gently. I returned the kiss, forcing all the emotion I had in me into the embrace and meeting of our lips. If he wouldn't listen to my words, I'd have to talk to him through my only other way of communication.

My kiss.

'Roza, please don't leave… I'd give up being a guardian for you, just don't go….' He whispered in my ear, stroking my cheek with his thumb. His voice sounded so pained, that before I could stop myself, I began to reassure him,

'Don't worry. I won't leave, I promise. I love you, I'm not leaving. Please, don't be sad.' I couldn't stop and I began to kiss away some tears that had escaped his beautiful brown eyes. He smiled joyously and cupped my face, staring into my eyes. The worst thing was that I needed him as much as he needed me. I knew that the only reason I was lying was because I wanted Dimitri all to myself. I couldn't leave him; I'd be heartbroken and upset for the rest of my existence!

'Oh that's great Roza!' he grinned and quick as a flash, he scooped me up into his arms and proceeded to walk back to his room.

Once we arrived there, he began to make us both some tea, as I lay cross-legged on his bed. I drifted my fingers across his bedsheets, taking pleasure in the feel of the soft material gliding through my fingertips. Dimitri came and sat on the side of the bed, handing me a cup of the warm liquid and resting his arm loosely around my waist.

'If something happened to me, what would you do?' I asked, uncertainly. Although I couldn't see his expression from my current position, I could just imagine him frowning and as it was, his grip on me tightened.

'Why would you say that?' I could hear the strain in his voice as he fought for control and tried not to snap at me for asking such a question.

'I just need to know that if I wasn't here…. you would move on…. it's what I want for you….' I said, carefully. He sighed and pushed my hair back, kissing my collarbone,

'Thank you… but I wouldn't be able to move on from you…' he laughed softly into the crook of my neck. I pulled away and, leaving my mug on the floor near the bed, I cupped his face, kissing his lips in soft bursts,

'You have to promise me you'll at least _try_.' I smiled and he returned it, kissing my cheek.

'You don't need to worry about me. In fact, you don't need to worry about _going_ anywhere. I'll always protect you.' he began to kiss down my neck and my eyes drifted shut. I revelled in his touch and soon the world was forgotten as we lay back, kissing. We never made love but this was better. There were no words, just silence as we whispered one another's names and kissed.

A few hours later, I heard Dimitri fall asleep. His breathing became heavier and his hold on me loosened. This was the moment I had been waiting for. I slipped out of his grasp and stood up, smoothing my clothes. I walked softly to his desk and began to compose a letter to him and a letter to Lissa. I wrote quickly, glad of the vampiric schedule which aided me by giving me sunlight to use as a sight guide. I placed both letters in envelopes, labelling them accordingly. I ran to my room, after kissing Dimitri's forehead softly. I packed a small bag, filling it only with my essentials.

I left the wards, telling the guardians on patrol that I had permission to leave from Alberta. They accepted my excuse and let me go through. Then I ran as fast as I could to the nearby private airport used only by Dhampirs and Moroi.

Goodbye Dimitri, I thought as I boarded my plane. Destination: Russia.

**A/N: Sorry for the delays again, please reviewwwww xxxxxxxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	15. New Land

**A/N: Sorry for the late update but I have been away from my laptop.  
BelikovsRoza1697**

_Goodbye Dimitri, I thought as I boarded my plane. Destination: Russia.  
_  
After I had stepped off of the plane, I looked around, taking in my surroundings and naturally identifying threats. I laughed quietly to myself, remembering how guardians never switch off. I hauled my large sports bag higher up my shoulder, adjusting my hair to make myself to look at least a little bit presentable. Alberta had texted me while I was on the plane, explaining the situation. I know you're not meant to have your cell on while airborne, but I was hoping, even though it was stupid, that Dimitri might text me or call me. I needed to hear his voice.  
I walked into the airport and passed security. After passing the baggage claim and walking into the central airport area, I leant against the wall and slid down, waiting for my driver to pick me up. ?  
As I was bored and hadn't packed anything anymore interesting than a magazine that I'd read three times, I cast my mind back to the note I sent Dimitri…?

_Dimitri,  
Yes, I'm leaving. I know I promised I wouldn't but I honestly just got caught up in the moment. Being with you makes me crazy. Not in the mental hospital way, but in the totally-smitten way. Sometimes, I'll blurt out things I don't mean. I didn't want to leave, but I know you'll be a great guardian. Hell, you were one already!  
I wish I could end this quick letter saying that I'll be returning, but I made a vow to myself not to lie anymore. I can't promise I'll be back.  
I love you forever and always,_

_Rose x  
_

That was a painful flashback for me. The worst thing was that I remembered writing each and every word, whilst glancing back and forth at Dimitri's sleeping figure. I'd like to kid myself that my looking at him constantly was due to my fear of him waking and discovering me, but the real reason was that I was finding it almost impossible to leave him.  
I remembered exactly how warm his skin was when I kissed his forehead. The memories of my thoughts clouded my mind and it was like torture. I was trapped constantly in that terrible moment as it repeated itself again and again in my mind.  
'Rose Hathaway?' a voice spoke up from above me. For a crazy moment I actually thought that God had reached out to me and was calling me. That stupid idea vanished as quickly as it came, as I looked up at the speaker. My haw dropped in shock as I checked out my collector. He was hot! Of course, nothing compared to Dimitri, my mind voiced. I felt terrible as I couldn't decide whether or not that voice was correct.  
'Uhh umm yes?' I struggled to find words, staring in wonder at his large muscles, which were partly concealed by a T-Shirt.  
'I'm here to collect you?' he said, almost asking permission. He offered his hand to me. I took it, revelling in his touch. He lifted me up and smiled at me, his eyes subtly drifting up and down my body. I thanked my lucky stars that I decided wearing a white camisole, black bra and short denim shorts was a good idea. My original thought was that Russia's moderately warm climate might affect me, but now I begged for rain. Every girl knows how much men love a black bra showing through a white top. I smiled, tossing my hair to one side to expose my face more. He looked back up to me and our eyes met, both sending apologetic messages for checking each other out. Then I burst out laughing. He joined in and I felt happy already.  
'Sorry about that. I had heard that you have a great body. Nothing like hearing about something good and then seeing it even better in reality.' he said, laughing. I blushed slightly.  
'Where on earth did you get those muscles? It's...' my hormones took over at the worst possible time, 'sexy!' I said breathlessly. My hands flew to my mouth and I blushed heavily. He grinned,  
'A compliment from the famous Rose 'Full-Of-Attitude' Hathaway?' he said, portraying mock horror. I playfully slapped his arm and he grinned again. He took my bag and slung it carelessly over his shoulder. I smiled kindly and followed him to the exit as he walked.  
We reached the car, which was a jet black VW Jetta, that hadn't yet come out in the rest of Europe. I was impressed already. I got into the front seat and glanced at the sound system. As the man, whose name was unknown to me at the moment, got in, I asked,  
'Hey, have you got any good music?' he looked at me, with a confused expression playing on his features. I noticed that his eyes, a dark blue, were big, but not in a bad way. They made him look even more beautiful. His hair was a dark auburn and it was cut short and gelled slightly.  
'Good music? Of course. I have loads of music. What do you want to listen to?' his voice held no Russian accent, which I was glad of. In fact, if any of his features held any likeness to Dimitri, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from running out of the car and finding a deserted place to sit and cry. I shook that thought and instead considered my music choice.  
'Maroon 5?'  
'Every album.'  
'Hands All Over? That's only been out a month or so...'  
'I have it. That one?'  
'Yeah.' I smiled at him. Similar music tastes. He was the complete opposite to Dimitri. I was beginning to develop a friendship with this guy.  
And I didn't even know his name.  
An hour or so later, he stopped the car and sat back in his seat, not moving. Instead he closed his eyes and nodded his head slightly to the heavy beats of the new music, which was Evanescence. I looked around at our surroundings.  
We were in a field.  
'Umm... Person?' he looked up and gave me an odd look.  
'Who's Person?' he asked. I smiled and tapped my nose with my index finger.  
'You. You never mentioned your name, so I made one up.' I grinned and he turned in his seat to face me.  
'Ok then Rose. My name is not Person; my name is Giorgio. As in Giorgio Armani.' he smiled.  
'Italian?'  
'Half. Mother was.'  
'Was?'  
'She died...'  
'I'm sorry...'  
'Don't be.' he smiled and I changed the subject quickly.  
'Anyway, returning to my question for you. Why did you stop the car, Giorgio?' I asked.  
'Well, it's very simple really. The place I'm meant to deliver you at isn't expecting us for another...' he glanced at the clock on the dashboard, 'forty minutes or so. Therefore, I thought it might be better if we wait it out.' he smiled and continued, 'I have food, drink, music and a beautiful girl in my car, what more could I want?' he asked rhetorically. I grinned and asked him another question,  
'So how old are you?' I tried to pose the question subtly, giving a non-interested look.  
It didn't work.  
He laughed softly and replied,  
'My, my. We've only known each other three or four hours and already you're quizzing me to see if I'm a suitable date.' he was teasing and it made me laugh. I pretended to act annoyed and said,  
'Damn it. You saw through my plan.' I made my look turn serious, all joking aside, 'Now, seriously, age?'  
'21.'  
'Hmmm...'  
'Hmmm?'  
'That's what I said.' I smiled and watched as he grabbed a can of beer,  
'Apparently it's illegal to consume alcohol before operating a vehicle. Some crap about the safety of your passengers.' I teased, giving my not-amused look. He nodded, not bothered, taking a swig of beer and speaking,  
'How old are you?'  
'Umm 18... why?' I was taken off-guard by his question.  
'Well then, you can drive the car to the base if I'm 'intoxicated'. Besides, this isn't beer.' he said, gulping some more down.  
'Oh? What is it then?'?  
'Water. I just don't like water bottles. Beer cans are more sturdy.' he grinned and I returned it. I liked his logic. It was like mine. So total lunacy to some people.  
After we had chatted and the forty minutes was up, Giorgio started the car back up and we left the field. We turned down road after road, finally reaching a large deserted building. There was a barrier and a man near it in front of us. Giorgio stopped the car and got out, speaking hurriedly in Russian to the man. The barrier was lifted and we entered.  
'What is this place?' I asked more to myself, as Giorgio got back in.?  
'Depends on which name you want to refer to it as. My boss would call it by it's correct name: тень Base. Whereas I would name it Home.' a small smile which held very little emotion was portrayed by him.  
'And what do I call it?' I asked quickly, trying to avoid the awkward silence.  
'I guess you could call it Work.' I grinned and he nodded in acknowledgement. He drove under the raised barrier and I looked up at my new workplace.  
God help me, was the only thought that ran through my head.


	16. Giorgio and the New Boss

**A/N: Not many reviews on the last chapter. Can you please review, compliment or complaint? Thanks xxx  
BelikovsRoza1697**

_God help me, was the only thought that ran through my head._

I must have gasped or said something that exposed my inner anxiety because Giorgio reached across the seat and gripped my hand. I smiled at him and he returned it, concentrating on the empty road ahead. We travelled at about 5 miles an hour due to some annoying traffic guideline in place that applied to the inside of schools and teaching bases in Russia. Giorgio loosened his grip on my hand. Filled with panic, I softy pulled his hand back as he tried to pull away. I began to play with his fingers, absentmindedly. He laughed softly and we continued the journey in a peaceful silence.

A few minutes later, we arrived in a main courtyard which was filled with vibrant flowers of all sizes. I admired them as Giorgio left the car, walking around to my side. He opened the door and offered my his hand. I took it, noticing for the second time today how well his T-Shirt suited him.

'It's beautiful, right?' he whispered, clearly referring to the flowers. I nodded and looked up at him, realising that he wasn't really much taller than me. He smiled down at me, captivating me with his stunning blue eyes.  
'So I hear you're pretty ruthless with Strigoi?' he asked, placing his hand on the small of my back and gently pushing me toward a large wooden door. He left the car in the courtyard.  
'It's my job.' I laughed and he opened the door.  
'Well apart from the one exception.' he continued, like I hadn't spoken.  
'Exception?' I asked, confused.  
'Dimitri Belikov.' he said, this time listening to my words. Just hearing his name was like a knife being forced into my chest. I froze, unsure of how to reply. He seemed to notice my discomfort but he didn't stop.  
'He was your mentor, right?' I nodded, 'He turned Strigoi and you and your charge, the last Dragomir, went out to go 'save' him.' he made quotation marks with his fingers. I nodded again.  
'When did you last see him?'  
'Just before I left.'  
'You left at about 7pm...?' he questioned. 7pm was pretty early in vampire time.  
'Yeah why?'  
'Was Belikov on duty?'  
'No he's not a guardian at the moment.' where was Giorgio going with this?  
'So you just happened to bump into him while you were leaving in the VERY early hours?'  
'No he was asleep in my room.' I blurted out before I could stop. Giorgio just looked blankly at me. His eyes portrayed shock, but they were mostly filled with sadness.  
'You were err... with him?' the way he said 'with' told me that he was referring to Dimitri and I's relationship.  
'Was, yes. I guess I still am, I don't know...'  
'He's your mentor.'  
'Was.'  
'He's older than you.'  
'So are most guys I socialise with. He's taller than me too, wanna argue about that?' I was getting really pissed off with Giorgio. Who was he to act like he knew everything? Giorgio looked uncomfortable and he shoved one hand into his jean's pocket. He used the other to rake through his hair. He sighed,  
'Why are all the pretty girls taken?' he muttered and we both laughed softly.  
'You'll find someone. We all do eventually.' I smiled and he returned it. He took my hand and led me through the door. We walked through corridors and ended up in a room that reminded me of Kirova's office when Lissa and I returned from our little 'holiday'.  
Giorgio ushered me to a chair and I complied, seating myself. He didn't sit; instead he paced in front of me. After a few minutes of him doing that, I spoke,  
'Seriously, Giorgio, you're gonna give yourself an aneurism if you don't stop pacing.' he stopped and looked at me. He grinned,  
'Sorry I'm just nervous. We were meant to be here an hour ago.'  
'So our little field trip, field being in the literal sense, wasn't totally allowed?' I teased and he laughed, his tension visibly disappearing. He relaxed his shoulders and sat near me in an adjacent chair. He clasped his hands together in a praying fashion and raised the fingertips to his lips.  
'Male or female?' I asked. Giorgio looked up, bemused and unsure.  
'I'm male. Suffering with gender confusion?' he teased and I laughed back softly. I shook my head,  
'Nup, I meant the boss.'  
'Ahh.' he muttered and then added, 'Male.'  
'Name?'  
'Henry.'  
'Not very Russian.' I muttered.  
'That's because he's American like you and me.'  
'Awww and there I was thinking you were a full-blood Italian.' I laughed and Giorgio grinned.  
'My name suggests I should. Sorry to disappoint.'  
'Can you speak Italian?'  
'Nope.'  
'Do an Italian accent?'  
'Nope.'  
'You fail at life. You're a poor excuse for someone who shares the name of a multi-millionaire.' I leant back in my chair.  
'Partly true. But at least I'm not as wrinkled as he is.'  
'Very true. Do you have the Armani code?' I laughed at my poor attempt of an Italian accent. Giorgio nodded approvingly,  
'Now that is an accent my mother would be proud of.'  
'Happy to oblige.' I winked. I was about to walk over to him when my cell vibrated in my pocket. I took it, looking at the Caller ID.  
Dimitri.  
I swore and answered it quickly. Always better to get bad things over and done with.  
'Roza? Where the hell are you?' I heard his angry voice scream over the phone. I rolled my eyes and mouthed Dimitri's name to Giorgio, who wanted to know the caller.  
'I'm fine. I left for the Alberta thing. Don't worry I'll stay safe. I might see you again.' I said quickly, sighing. He calmed down.  
'Why did you lie?' he asked quietly. I could just imagine the guardian mask that was forming on his beautiful face.  
'I couldn't help it. I couldn't tell you I'm leaving, you're too addictive. I had to leave without your knowledge. You would have tried to stop me.' Giorgio watched me curiously.

'Roza…' I could hear in his tone that he was about to complain or object. I quickly added,

'I'll talk to you later; I'm kinda busy at the moment. I love you…' my heart ached, saying those words. There was a pause and I heard him intake a breath.

'I love you too. Please call me soon…..' I hung up, quickly whispering an agreement. I watched as Giorgio stood up straight, his hands joined behind his back. I gave him a look of confusion and he gestured to a corner of the room. I followed his gaze and my eyes fell on a _very _short man who had entered.

'Hello, Guardian Hathaway. Welcome to the Тень Base. I am Henry Jamieson, your new boss.'

He looked evil.

Shit.


	17. Settling In

**A/N thanks for the reviews! I hit 100 which makes me very, very happy xxxxxx a shoutout to all those who reviewed at all since I started this story xx thanks xx I love you guys!  
BelikovsRoza1697**

'_Hello, Guardian Hathaway. Welcome to the Тень Base. I am Henry Jamieson, your new boss.' _

_He looked evil._

_Shit._

I stood up and approached him. I leant down slightly and offered my hand for him to shake. He half-smiled and turned and walked away,  
'I will show you the base.' I looked up at Giorgio and his expression told me to get moving. I followed Henry out of the main area and back into the courtyard.

'This is the courtyard obviously. I see you've acquainted yourself with this place already.' he eyed Giorgio's car and I instantly felt bad for Giorgio. He was gonna get on one angry boss' nerves.  
'There isn't much here, except dorms, the main reception, observation blocks and the business rooms. You can familiarise yourself with the two latter areas later. I shall take you to your dorm now.' Henry concluded, rushing off to the right, where the pretty sights just intensified in glory. The flowers' colour was so bright and vibrant that it took my breath away. As I was behind Henry, he didn't see as I gently took one of the crimson roses from one of the plants. I had an idea for that rose.  
Once we had arrived at my room, Henry gave me instructions to unpack and settle down for the day. My duties would begin tomorrow. At the base, they ran on a normal human schedule so I was unfamiliar to the feel of warm sun on my back, as I rested on my balcony.  
I took the rose and wrapped it in a handkerchief that I happened to own. The handkerchief had my initials sewn onto a corner in blue thread. I asked at reception for someone to package the rose for me and send it to Court. I smiled as I wrote Dimitri's name as the receiver of my gift. I hoped that the rose would convey a message of love and loyalty to him.

Sure, Giorgio was fit beyond all comprehension but Dimitri was my soul mate. I had rescued him from the dead and I had no intention of giving him up because another man caught my eye. I was proud of myself for confirming my love for Dimitri. The best thing was that I didn't feel any guilt at all or any other feelings but friendship for Giorgio.  
I lay on my bed, trying to imagine Dimitri lying with me. I couldn't do it. His touch, his body, his warmth; they were impossible to replicate.

'Oh God, why must my life be so shit?' I asked to myself. I stared up at the white ceiling, hoping somehow a wonderful life solution would pop into my mind and I would be as happy as Lissa, our future Queen and her boyfriend, Christian. I sighed, pulling my legs up to my chest. The bed was surprisingly comfortable and I wasn't all too keen to get up and into the shower, no matter how much I probably reeked.

Very soon after, I fell into a deep sleep and I begun to dream about Dimitri and I together.

_We were sitting on very green, fresh-looking grass and Dimitri was stroking my hair. I knew it was him even though I wasn't actually looking at him. In the distance, I saw Adrian approaching. He was just strolling along, not looking too bothered about anything. Then his eyes fell on Dimitri and I. His eyes widened and he stepped back, raising his hand to point at something near me. I looked in the direction of his gaze and saw a Strigoi, with blood dripping from his mouth, near me. I moved my hand to grab my stake which, on this occasion, was resting in the ankle band I had. As my hand neared the weapon, it was caught by Dimitri's warm fingers. _

'_Don't worry….. he is no threat to us. __No foe….' he whispered in my ear. __I looked up into Dimitri's eyes and let out a silent gasp as I saw red rings around his perfect chocolate brown pupils. He smiled and I glanced at his fangs, which were nearing my neck. I tried to stand up and run, but his grip tightened on my hand. The other Strigoi that was present stood behind Dimitri and waited. _

'_Let me go, Dimitri! Why do you want me?' he smiled gently and leaned down, brushing my hair off of my neck area. He kissed the flesh just above my collarbone and whispered,_

'_Because I love you….' _

_And then he bit me._

I woke up in a cold sweat, shaking. I looked around, grabbing my stake from my belt.

No threats.

I dropped my stake back onto the bed and burst into tears. The last time I had cried this bad was when Dimitri was turned, and before that, when Jesse and Ralf spread those horrible rumours about me. Thinking about the rumours brought on memories of how Mason had helped me. I missed Mason; he was my best friend, besides Lissa. I still felt so guilty for not being able to save him, although, I knew that either me or Mason was going to die. Mason just took the decision into his own hands, saving me and sacrificing himself.

'Rose?' a voice called through the door. I walked over, rubbing my eyes to get rid of excess tears and possible redness. I opened the door,

'Yeah?' it was Giorgio. He narrowed his eyes at me, after glancing at my face. Damn, I obviously didn't do a very good job of covering up my tears.

'We need you. There's been an attack and there's about 30 Strigoi who are inside the base. You ready for some action, girl?' his focus shifted from my face and onto the matter in hand.

'I was _born_ ready, baby.' I flashed a grin at him, before quickly arming myself with my stake and following him to the Strigoi…

**A/N: Sorry it's short, but can you please review and tell me your predictions! Xxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	18. A Familiar Face

**A/N: I'm trying to update ASAP, but bear in mind that it's pretty hard xxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**

'_I was born ready, baby.' I flashed a grin at him, before quickly arming myself with my stake and following him to the Strigoi…_

We ran down to the main outside zone. I stared in wonder as floods of Strigoi entered through the main gates; the guardians there were long dead.

'Oh God… how many are there?' I gasped and Giorgio nodded, as if he understood my shock at the scene.

'About 50 Strigoi and the odd human; they come in packs together. You haven't battled this many before?' he asked, punching one Strigoi in the face and then staking him quickly and efficiently. I shook my head, and then considered, shrugging,

'I did help in this one attack. There were about 30, maybe. Do you get large groups like this a lot?' I saw one Strigoi with beautiful, dare I say, blonde hair. He shocked me by kneeling down in front of me and clasping his hands together in a praying fashion. He offered his chest to me and I bent down so that I was close to him.

'Please… stake me. I don't want to be like this. I hate it. My family despised me, so I murdered them. Kill me!' he whispered loudly, with a pained voice. I was moved by his words so I complied, trying to kill him as gently as possible. He gave me a sad smile as he fell backwards, dead.

'You ok?' Giorgio asked, helping me to my feet. I nodded, still slightly shocked by the blonde Strigoi's words. I stood on my tip-toes, reaching for Giorgio's shoulders. I leaned forward and whispered in his ear as he fought with another Strigoi,

'I'm going to go in deeper, into the real battle, not the sidelines.' Giorgio laughed and I let go of him, running into the main struggle. There were both guardians and Strigoi falling in similar numbers, which wasn't good. There were approximately 60 guardians and we really couldn't afford to lose more than 20 guardians, especially women. I noticed that there were only 3 women, including myself, actually fighting. I glanced down and noticed that there was the body of a Strigoi that looked familiar to me, on the ground. I saw a lot of blood surrounding him and he had cuts to his face and body.

He was still alive.

I aimed my stake at his chest, preparing to stab him, when he uttered a single word,

'Stop….'

And the weird thing was, I did.

He smiled at me and lifted a heavily wounded hand up to me. I took it and lifted him up. He wiped some of the blood off of his face, exposing his eye colour, which was red, as expected. I aimed again, preparing to kill him for real this time. He caught my hand and yanked me forward, hugging me tightly. I tried to release myself but he whispered in my ear,

'Don't worry. I won't hurt you…. it's Denis….' That was all it took. I hugged him tighter and he laughed softly.

'You're… you're Strigoi?' I managed to eventually say. He laughed again, this time it was full of humour.

'Ahh you would think that, I guess.' Denis released me and touched his eye with a bloody finger.

And a contact lens fell out.

I laughed, pulling him to me and kissing his cheek.

'Why, pray tell, are you pretending to be a blood-sucking evil monster?' I grinned and he returned it with a bright smile. He winced as the muscles pushed up onto his eye, which must have been damaged somehow. I felt around the area near his eye, gently, trying not to cause him too much pain. He seemed to take pleasure in my touch and I stopped, linking our arms and taking him into the shadow of a building.

'I was trying to infiltrate the main Strigoi hideout.' Denis explained and I cocked my head,

'By getting yourself killed? That's a really bad idea, y'know.' I laughed and he nodded, hanging his head.

'I was… trying to find you….' he whispered. Then it dawned on me.

I had never told him that I was ok.

I guess I never had a chance too. Besides, I didn't know where any of our little group was, so it was hardly possible to get in contact.

'I'm so sorry. I couldn't tell you… I never had a chance to…. I'm ok. I was taken by Dimitri, and I… _stayed_ with him for a bit. Then I returned to America. I can't believe I forgot to inform you.' I shook my head, disgusted at myself.

'Don't worry. No-one else came with me. I just wanted, no, _needed_ to see you back safely.' I was concerned by his want to see me. Did he have a thing for me? I certainly felt nothing more but friendship for him. As I have said before, Dimitri is my one and only.

'Yeah, so as I say, I found Dimitri. My best friend turned him back to a Dhampir. I just got sent away, for work purposes.' I quickly added, 'I miss him. A lot. He's like, my soul mate.'

'I'm so happy that you found him. You're different now…. happier.' Denis said. Thank God, I really didn't need an admirer. I needed to concentrate on my career, and try and forget about the boyfriend I had waiting for me, back home. I pointed out the direction of the clinic to Denis and began to walk back to the battle. Denis' arm shot out and grabbed my wrist.

'Please don't leave me….' he whispered and I nodded, with a heavy heart.

After several hours in the infirmary, waiting with Denis, I fell asleep again. No dreams came to me, and soon I awoke with my hand gripping Denis' tightly. He was still asleep and, now that his bruises and cuts had been cleared up, I could recognise my friend easily. I stroked his hand with my thumb, rubbing circles into it, and he sighed, soothed.

'Sleep well, Denis…' I whispered in his ear and then, I stood up. I paced near the window, watching as the guardians triumphed over the Strigoi. One by one, they fell, and each time one did, my heart leaped for joy. I still felt bad for not being there, but I knew Denis needed me more. He was the reason that I found Dimitri, so I was happy to be able to help him.

I looked down as my cell vibrated again.

Dimitri.

I flipped open the top and answered it,

'Hey…'

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Reviewwwwww xxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	19. Dimitri

**A/N: a late update because the lack of reviews is putting me off writing more. Sorry :/**

**xxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**

'_Hey…'_

'Rose...' his velvety voice replied. I smiled as I noticed his tone was far from angry.  
'Dimitri. I'm sorry, honest.' I whispered and I knew he was probably wincing in real life.  
'It's no matter. I can see that you've moved on...' I almost dropped the phone.  
'Moved on? What the hell?'  
'I talked to Alberta today and she said that your flight wasn't scheduled for another week. So you clearly didn't want to stay with me. Plus, I got a call from a friend of mine, who says that you're quite happy with another man. So I'm telling you that I understand that you've moved on.' Dimitri said simply. I gasped, falling back and thanking God there was a chair behind me. Dimitri intook a breath as if he was considering what to say. I beat him to it.  
'Dimitri, I can't deal with this. I'll call you later and we can talk about this properly.' I whispered and hung up. I raked a hand through my hair. Denis sat up and limped over to me.  
'You ok? I know that was Dimka...' he murmured. I nodded and muttered something about being absolutely fine. I only realised I was crying once Denis commenced in clearing my cheeks of moisture. He smiled at me and I mentally thanked God for his presence. Why were Russians so amazing? Must be some kind of genetic thing.  
'I'm sorry. I woke you; go back to sleep. You need it.'  
'As do you.'  
'I'm not tired.' I smiled knowing the real reason I wouldn't sleep: I was too scared of the dreams. Giorgio walked into the ward and rushed to me.  
'Rose? Where the hell were you? Never took you for a deserter...' he shook his head at me. I gestured to Denis,  
'I noticed a friend of mine was injured so I took him here.'  
'Yeah don't worry G. I'm good. Don't punish her for no reason.' Denis said. G? Did he know Giorgio?  
'Denis! Oh thank God...' Giorgio paused and then his face distorted into an expression of pure rage, 'Where the fuck were you?' he shouted. The nurse peered out through her office blinds and I lay a hand on Giorgio's arm to calm him. He breathed in deeply and stopped. Denis hung his head.  
'I'm sorry, G. I just really needed to make sure Rose was ok. I met her while she was trying to find her boyfriend; he was Strigoi.'  
'Ah yes, Dimitri Belikov.' Giorgio nodded.  
'I disguised myself as a Strigoi. I found out that Rose was held hostage by Belikov. I wanted to infiltrate his base and save her. When I look back, I can see it was a stupid idea.' Denis whispered and stared at the ground in shame. I was moved that he would do that for me so I reached out and hugged him tightly.  
'Thank you...' I murmured, grasping him as close as I could without physically strangling him.  
'How do you know Giorgio, Denis?' I asked.  
'Oh, G? We were at high school together. We graduated together. We're best buds.' he grinned and Giorgio snorted.  
'Unfortunately he still sees fit to call me by my first name initial. I hate that...' Giorgio muttered, folding his arms. I grinned,  
'Great name choice. So, G,' I laughed at Giorgio's expression of disgust, 'we win?'  
'Yup. 100%. 7 guardians dead though. They _were_ the elderly and sickened ones...' Giorgio admitted.  
'Still doesn't mean it's unimportant. They were still first-rate guardians.' I chastised and Denis nodded in acknowledgement.  
'Anyways, guys it's been a nice little chat with you, but I really have to go back and sleep.' _That's a lie,_ I thought. As I turned to go, Denis and Giorgio both gasped.  
'What?' I questioned. Giorgio just grabbed some gauze bandages and micropore tape. I sighed as I glanced down at a deep gash on my waist. The pain hit hard as I acknowledged the wound. I moaned quietly. I remembered getting sidetracked by a pain in my waist while taking Denis away from the battle. Strigoi son of a bitch.  
'That should fix it...' Giorgio murmured, bandaging my wound.  
'You know medical shit?' I asked, surprised.  
'Yup. Trained as a doctor.'  
'You're a guardian...' I said, confused. Denis clapped sarcastically,  
'Well spotted Rose. Was it the Molnija marks? Or perhaps his coat which has Guardian Rossi embroidered on it?' Denis rolled his eyes and I blushed.  
'I trained as a doctor but when my mother was killed I decided that I wanted to learn how to protect myself and others. I learnt Self Defence and then I thought; why not give guarding people a go? I guarded a Badica for 3 years and then I was reassigned to this base.'  
'Wow...' I muttered. Giorgio stopped his medical... stuff and I thanked him, returning to my room. I collapsed onto my bed again and grabbed my phone, scanning the contacts till I found Dimitri.  
'Dimitri...' I breathed and I heard Dimitri's heavy breathing on the other end. There was an uncomfortable silence.  
'I believe that your giving up on me gives me clearance to move on also...' he finally said. I tried to speak but all that happened was that I burst into tears.  
'I will move back to Russia to my family. Perhaps I'll find a woman who will be a more suitable partner.' he whispered. I just murmured back,  
'I'm not cheating... I love you...' I heard Dimitri gulp and I thought I heard the click of a gun; I was most likely mistaken.  
'I... don't believe you. You wouldn't have left otherwise.' Dimitri said with a large amount of regret in his voice. This was weird. Was he lying just for the fun of it? I could tell he didn't mean his words.  
'I know you don't mean that. I can hear it in your voice...?' I said, confused. He sighed and I swear I heard him groan quietly. I gripped the phone tighter,  
'Dimitri! Why are you lying? Is there someone there?' I realised and he gasped, speaking quickly,  
'Rose I love you! I always will-'  
And then there was a gunshot.  
I screamed and reached for my room telephone. I knew Lissa's cell number off by heart so I dialled it quickly and efficiently.  
'Rose? I got your letter! I-' Lissa's voice said happily.  
'Lissa! Go find Dimitri! He's been shot!' I yelled.  
'Are you-' she started.  
'Yes I'm fucking sure! Heal him! I can't lose him!' I hung up after she mumbled a yes. I lay back on my bed, dialling the reception desk.  
'Hello? It's Rose Hathaway. Please book me a flight to Montana ASAP.' I urged, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.  
'Why? You only just arrived!'  
'It's of the utmost importance! Please do it!' I shouted down the phone. Oops, reception was gonna hate me.  
'Yes Guardian Hathaway.' I hung up and began to pack hurriedly.  
Oh Dimitri...

**A/N: Don't kill me! Instead, divert your anger at Dimitri's possible death into writing a review or prediction of the next chapter :)**

**xxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	20. Why Are Airports So Slow!

**A/N: A quicker update to thank for the 10 reviews I got the same day I posted the chapter! Thank you! Please keep this up, it makes me really happy and it gives me guidance on what to write!**

_Oh Dimitri…._

I was boarding the plane before I knew it. I ignored the stares of the airport staff as I ran through security as quickly as I could. I pushed to the beginning of the line, paying no attention to the _children and disabled first_ order. Fuck that, I needed to make sure Dimitri was okay.

He couldn't be dead. Not Dimitri.

Dimitri was a strong, efficient, capable guardian and whoever it was who shot him was trying to make him denounce his love for me. Tasha popped into my mind, but I shook my head. Tasha wouldn't go that far, and besides, she seemed to be okay with Dimitri and me together.

'Excuse me Madame, you are neither a child nor are you disabled. Please step back,' an air steward said. I glared at him and flashed my pass which Giorgio gave me. It said some shit about me being some kind of doctor who was in an urgent meeting. Basically, I was a priority client who needed to be first. He glanced at the pass and nodded quickly,

'Of course, Doctor, my apologies,' he muttered, ushering me to my seat.

The flight was long.

Too long.

Once I had finally boarded the plane, the crew took 37 minutes to start the plane, and then when we neared our destination, the plane took forever to just land. I mean, it's not exactly hard! You just stop flying! My mind raced, thinking up terrible possibilities about Dimitri's welfare.

'Miss? Please can you wait here? Your flight won't be for another few minutes. There is a delay,' a pristine air hostess smiled sweetly at me, as I tried to run to the plane.

'What caused the fucking delay?' I whispered, menacingly. She stepped back and seemed to be lost for words. Recovering, she stuttered,

'Uhh, the engines won't start. I'm sorry…'

'Fix the goddamn engines. I am _very_ busy. I need to get to my-…. meeting. It is of the utmost importance.' I stopped myself before I confessed that I was off to save my boyfriend, who may have been shot by someone threatening our relationship.

'I can only apologise, Miss. The delay should only be 30 minutes. Most likely less than that,' she said, hurrying away shortly after. I sat down and reached for my cell. I had no missed calls or texts, which made me even more worried. Was Dimitri so badly hurt that Lissa couldn't text or call me because she was so busy?

As I was about to find Lissa's name in my contacts, my battery symbol started to flash.

Low battery. Shit.

I smashed my forefinger hard against the call symbol on my touch screen cell, but it was too late. My cell died.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck.' I whispered loudly to myself, although the couple next to me gave me a few dirty looks. I just glared back. As I lay back in my seat, staring out of the window at the people milling about, I noticed a tall, brown-haired man striding towards me.

It was Dimitri.

I stood up and ran up to meet him, knotting my fingers in his hair as I pulled his face down to kiss me. He responded, wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me off of the ground. I pulled him closer, loving the feel of his warm body on mine.

'Roza… why won't you join me?' Dimitri whispered in my ear, kissing my earlobe and then working his way back up my face. I frowned,

'Join you? I'm coming back to you, already…' I replied. He looked into my eyes grinning, and I froze.

They were yet again, red.

'I think you know what I mean, Roza…' he leaned down to my neck and then I woke up. I woke with a start, hitting my elbow on the armrest due to the jolt I had.

I looked up at the flight board, and I took great pleasure in seeing that my flight was ready to be boarded. I stood up and grabbed my bag with a lightning fast speed, running into the line, scooting to the front yet again. When the steward asked me the same damn question about why I pushed in, I practically threw my pass at him.

'I'm the epitome of busy! Please let me through!' I growled, pushing past them and boarding the plane. I bought every type of soda they had on offer, making sure that I stayed awake no matter what. There was no way I was going to jump out of my seat screaming at the top of my lungs about Strigoi; a creature nobody else on the plane would have heard of. I was not getting thrown off for lunacy reasons. I needed Dimitri so much. To hold him and make sure that he was okay. That annoying little voice in my mind spoke up, _Why bother? He's most likely dead. The fact that he didn't talk after the shot sounded shows that he was dead. Go back to Russia._

It couldn't be true. Dimitri was the strongest person I'd ever met. It was weird to think that I might not see him ever again. At least when he was Strigoi, I knew I'd still be able to see him again, even though he'd be different. Different, as in, he would want me dead.

'Madame, as you're a priority client you may leave the plane now.' a voice said from behind me. I didn't even turn around to see who it was. I just ran through all the ports, ending up in the parking lot. Arms wound around my waist and a man, I established, kissed my cheek. I smelt the familiar aroma of clove cigarettes and identified the man. Sadly, the smell I really wished to inhale was Dimitri's gorgeous aftershave, but I would have to make do with Adrian for now.

'Adrian! How's Dimitri?' I gushed, twisting around to face him in his relatively firm hold. Adrian sighed and looked away,

'He's… alive… barely…' he whispered.

'Take me to him!' I screamed and Adrian nodded, pushing me towards his car, a stylish Lamborghini which I would have liked to study closely, had I had more time.

We drove at a barely legal speed, whilst Adrian explained the situation,

'When you called Lissa, she ran to Dimitri's room. She bumped into me on the way though, so I came with her. We found his door open and when we entered, he was on the floor, unconscious. He was shot in the back; it punctured his lung, but narrowly missed his heart apparently. Lissa tried to heal him as much as she could, but she was low on spirit. My healing powers are next to nothing so my input wasn't much good. We took him to Doctor Olendski and she said that he's pretty bad, in a coma, actually, but give it a few weeks or so and he should wake up. Though she also said he could wake up in days. Depends on his physical strength,' Adrian finished, entering the Court's gates and parking up. I ran out and yanked Adrian's arm to the clinic.

I walked straight in and spotted a private room, which had it's door ajar. I saw through the gap that Lissa, Christian and Doctor Olendski were all present, staring down at Dimitri who was lying on a large hospital bed, with drips and monitors connected to his arms. I ran forward, entering the room. Lissa gasped,

'Rose?' she whispered and I nodded in acknowledgement, rushing to Dimitri's side. I grabbed his hand, which wasn't as warm as he usually was. A single tear left my eye and Adrian pushed me down into a seat. I couldn't take it in.

Dimitri was barely alive, but relied completely on machines and chemicals to keep him breathing. The pain was too much to bear. I rested my forehead on the bed near his hand. i tightened my grip on his hand and a beeping made me raise my head. Doctor Olendski just smiled at me, moisture making her eyes glisten.

'What's wrong with him?' I asked, worry tearing me apart.

'His heart rate is rising.' she whispered.

'Isn't that a bad thing?' I asked, wondering what kind of karmic entity made it possible for me to actually be advising the doctor how to treat her own patient.

'No. It's excellent. His heart rate has been very low recently. Your presence changed it. Coma patients can usually still detect things. He knows you're here…' her voice broke on the last word and fresh tears sprung to my eyes. I leaned forward and kissed his forehead, whispering,

'I won't leave. This time I'm not lying. I'll stay here as long as it takes for you to wake up. Please try. I know it's hard…' the fact that I could empathize with him was very ironic, but it seemed perfect right now. Doctor Olendski reached forward, feeling his cheeks,

'He's not as cold now too… he won't be needing these…' she gently removed two of the drips attached to him.

I really meant what I said too. I wasn't going to leave.

Fuck Alberta.

Fuck the Russian job.

Dimitri needed me and I would be here as long as he needed me.

**A/N: How's that? I loved writing this chapter :) I could never kill off Dimitri, I love him too much**


	21. Coma's Suck, Believe Me, I Know

**A/N: I was so happy to see all the reviews! Thank you to all those who reviewed, especially **_**vampirefan101**_**, who I recently found out was my best friend and bond mate :D**

**Also, in case you wanted to know, Richelle Mead is releasing the first chapter of Last Sacrifice on her book's website on November 29****th****, I can't wait :)**

**On with Chapter 21…..**

_I really meant what I said too. I wasn't going to leave._

_Fuck Alberta._

_Fuck the Russian job._

_Dimitri needed me and I would be here as long as he needed me._

I sat with Dimitri, stroking his face and examining his wounds, which sounds pretty weird but I was trying to figure out how he was shot. I would talk to him too, even though he couldn't answer. I told him about Giorgio, explaining in detail how I was trying to think of a nickname for him like Dimitri's _Comrade_. I told him how I met Denis again and about the Strigoi invasion that had occurred a few days before. I shared my worry that there were still too many of them alive with him. I knew he could hear me because whenever I got emotional about something, his heart rate would double. That made me smile, even though it wasn't a very good thing. It meant that he still cared about me. Even in a coma, he worried about me. I always tried to avoid the subject of why he was in this situation, because whenever I mentioned his wounds or anything relating to the incident, his heart rate really did reach worrying highs. It was almost his means of communication. Good old Dimitri, making the best out of everything. Making a heart rate monitor a communication device seemed to be second nature to him. I laughed to myself as I wondered how on earth you could raise your own heart rate to orchestrate meaning. Then I remembered it was Dimitri; Dimitri could do anything.

I regretted thinking that.

Suddenly, my mind was swarmed by sad and suspicious thoughts. Who would shoot him? Why? Was it because he wouldn't say that he didn't love me anymore? Why was that so important?

I tried to push out all those horrible thoughts. I could ask Dimitri who it was when he had woken up. He'd help us. I also found out that he had been reinstated as a guardian in my absence. He was Guardian Belikov again, at long last. I teased him saying that I would call him that, as well as Comrade. I knew he'd hate that. I longed for him to just sigh and open his eyes. I could just picture it. He'd roll his eyes and mutter,

'_Oh Roza…' _

But he didn't.

He wouldn't for some time. Doctor Olendski said that he might experience breathing and respiratory problems after he'd woken up. But Dimitri was a strong individual and I knew that wouldn't happen to him. After a few moments of comfortable silence, where I just stroked his hair lovingly, I reached the 'bad subject'. But then again, I'm sure he knew it was coming, he knew me after all.

'I am so sorry… I didn't move on… I could never move on. I just didn't want you to lose a job opportunity because of a stupid girl like me…' I sighed and let go of his hand, resting my hand on the bed near his. The heart rate monitor bleeped and I laughed bitterly,

'Let me guess. You're trying to say _Roza, shut up_?' I guessed and his heart rate slowed again. I began to withdraw my hand off the bed, when his fingers twitched. I jumped up so quickly that my chair fell over and made a loud clatter as it fell to the floor. I grabbed his hand back and sat on the side of his bed, careful not to dislodge any IVs. I kissed his lips,

'OMG! You _so_ just moved… hey, have you just been pissing me off with the whole heart rate monitor thing, when you could have just moved your fingers instead?'

No response.

'Oh right… Ermm.. move your index finger for yes and your ring finger for no. Same question.' I smiled and he raised his index finger.

'You're so mean. I was worried you'd be paralysed or something. But you were indeed covering up the fact that you could move your fingers. Anything else you can move?'

He lifted his index finger.

'Oh? Where?' I asked, confused. He opened his eyes,

'Two places actually. Wanna take a guess?' he whispered, grinning. I glared at him,

'You made me look like a retard. How long have you been awake?' I sighed, smiling and swatting him gently on his arm. He shrugged and I moved so he could sit up. He wasn't wearing a shirt and I only realised that I was staring at his beautifully sculpted muscles when he waved a hand in front of my face.

'Hello?' he grinned and pulled my face towards his, kissing me sweetly. I sighed happily, taking pleasure in the feel of his body near mine. Sadly, he pulled back and settled just for an arm around my waist.

'Do you promise that you'll stay this time?' he asked, frowning ever so slightly. His eyes portrayed hope, yet pain, most likely from the last time I left. I almost shed a few tears from his weak expression,

'Of course.' I spoke before I could consider my words. His smile intensified and before I knew it, I was being consumed by a passionate kiss. The intense passion I felt for him was taking me over and soon it bubbled over and I was on top of him, kissing down his chest.

And the best thing was that he didn't stop me.

What did though, was Doctor Olendski as she walked in.

I froze and jumped off the bed, offering Dimitri my hand,

'He's awake?' she asked, shocked and I nodded. Dimitri took my hand and stood up beside me. She approached us and felt Dimitri's neck glands.

'You don't feel any pain?' she asked incredulously. He nodded,

'I can feel the wound, but it's….. it's bearable.' Dimitri smiled. Would he ever learn to admit that he was in pain?

'Can we go now, Doctor?' I asked, impatiently and Dimitri laughed softly, leaning down and whispering in my ear,

'Roza, shut up…' I looked up at him and failed, yet again, to raise my eyebrow. He grinned,

'Oh so you heard that?'

'Yup. You're just so beautiful when you're being compassionate. I might try and be ill more.' Dimitri grinned and I swatted his arm again,

'You will _not_. You almost gave me a bloody heart attack. Besides, you're still hurt. Where _does_ it hurt, just out of interest?' Doctor Olendski was ignoring our ramblings while she was studying the readings from the monitors.

'Everywhere, really, but don't worry about it.' Doctor Olendski looked up when he said this,

'Were you in pain a lot? Your heart rate was spiked up everywhere!' she said, shocked. Dimitri glanced at me and we both stifled laughter. She seemed to understand and she smiled to herself, returning to studying the readings.

'Come on, Dimitri. Let's go.' I took his hand and he reached for his shirt which was on a shelf that was about a foot higher than me. I watched him as he took it from the ledge. He saw my look and questioned it,

'How come you're so tall? It's unfair.' I pouted and he rolled his eyes. He put his shirt back on and we walked to my room. Once we had walked in, I sat on my bed, while he made a drink. When he returned, I spoke,

'Okay. You know what we're going to talk about. What happened?' and that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make a Russian squirm.

**A/N: I couldn't leave Dimitri comatose for too long! Review please :)**

**xxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	22. Let It All Out

**A/N: The reviews coming in are really kind xx thank you xx a special thank you to ****tazzylove**** who gives me loads of shoutouts! Read her stories, they're actually amazing :) xxxx only 1 day till the first chapter of Last Sacrifice is released! :D**

'_Okay. You know what we're going to talk about. What happened?' and that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make a Russian squirm._

Dimitri just looked at me and an uncomfortable silence filled the room. I wasn't backing down though; he couldn't pull that card with me, not with something as important as this. The silence lasted for quite a few minutes and throughout it, I was staring into his eyes and almost having a mini conversation with him that way.

_Tell me_, I communicated through my new tool. He looked away. _Coward_, I though immediately. Then I considered. _No, he's not a coward… he just doesn't want to tell me… maybe he doesn't trust me!_ I sat up from my slouch, suddenly realising my epiphany,

'You won't tell me because you don't trust me?' I asked, my jaw dropping and my composure slipping back into an unhappy slouch. He didn't answer for some time and that just confirmed my fear that his trust in me had decreased since my departure.

'…. No, Roza… I-I'm just…' he stopped and stood up, walking to my window. I got off the bed and walked up to him from behind. He had folded his arms and I gently placed my hand on his bare arm. He didn't respond, so I slowly unfolded his arms and turned him to look at me. I traced the side of his face with the back of my right hand. He sighed and looked down, closing his eyes. I cupped his face with my hands and brought him down to my level.

'What's wrong? What are you 'just' doing?' I asked, kissing his cheek. He looked me in the eye and I saw hurt portrayed in his features. I smoothed out his frown with my fingers and smiled sweetly,

'Tell me…' I whispered and he shook his head.

'I can't…' he replied, pulling me close to him and resting his head in my hair. I copied, laying my head on his shoulder and rubbing his back in a circular motion. He sighed into my hair and I wondered what on earth was wrong with him. I moved my hand down and under his shirt, feeling the skin on his back. My hands ran up and down his tense muscles and it broke my heart to be able to feel deep gashes all over the top of his arms. I tried to avoid them as I soothed him but he still winced, and that just hurt me even more. I swore to myself that I would find and kill whoever did this to him. When I left, I hadn't planned on coming back. It would hurt both me and Dimitri, and believe me, neither of us wanted that. It seems what I'd originally thought would help situations, just made them even worse. I grasped him closer to me, burying my head even further into his neck. Tears sprung to my eyes and fell down my face. Dimitri must have felt the moisture from my tears on his neck, because he lifted my face up and shushed me, kissing me tenderly,

'Why are you crying?' he asked, his expression soft. I paused, waiting for his expression to harden but they didn't. I smiled weakly,

'I… this is all my fault… you got hurt, almost killed, because of me…' I whispered and I moved back to my bed. I sat cross-legged there and faced the wall, my back to him. It took some time, but soon I felt the comfort of his hand on the small of my back. I turned around, gave him a half-smile, and then turned back. I wanted to show him that I couldn't just come back, see him through his recovery stage and act like there was nothing wrong with what had happened; with what _I_ had done. He grabbed my face and turned me back around. His eyes were fierce and I was almost scared,

'_None_ of this is your fault. It's just… I can't tell you because…' he leaned forward as if to kiss my collarbone, but just as I moved, expecting physical contact, he whispered, 'I don't remember…' and then he emitted a small chuckle.

I heaved a sigh of relief and pulled his face to mine, kissing him everywhere I could reach.

'Jesus, scare me much? I almost had a bloody heart attack!' I laughed and Dimitri looked away, embarrassed.

'You're having memory problems?' I asked tentatively. He looked back at me and nodded quickly,

'Like what?'

'Well, I'm not exactly going to know what I've forgotten, Rosemarie,' he said, rolling his eyes. I grinned and starting thinking of things that he could have forgotten.

'Okay, tell me everything you know about me.'

'Alright then. You're Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway, daughter of dhampir, Guardian Janine Hathaway and Moroi, Ibrahim Mazur. You're 18, you're a guardian, obviously and you're dhampir. You're bonded with the last Dragomir Princess and you ran away with her when you were 15. You lived with humans for two years and then me and a group of guardians found you and took you back to the Academy, where you caught up with training sessions. I was your mentor. You left the Academy to find me after I was turned Strigoi in a battle and then…' he paused and I grabbed his hand. I knew he hated talking about this time in his life, '… I kept you prisoner in a Strigoi base near the centre of Novosibirsk. You escaped, distracting me by piercing my chest with a chair leg. I chased you but you staked me, not killing me, and you ran away, where you, I'm guessing, went back to America. You freed Victor Dashkov and he found his brother, who told you how to turn me back to a dhampir. I kidnapped Lissa and her boyfriend, Christian and then, when you came to rescue them, Lissa used a stake charmed with spirit to stake me and turn me back. At first, I refused to see you and I said I didn't love you, even though I did. You managed to get me to confess my real feelings, but you were arrested on suspect of killing the Queen, which you didn't do. I got some Strigoi that I used to know to free you but they tricked me, kidnapping me and Adrian and separating us all. I escaped and got you both back, but you were in a coma…' Dimitri sighed and yawned, 'do I need to continue?' he asked and I grinned.

'Nope, I can safely say you know almost everything about me. Except you didn't say one thing…' I said, drifting my hand up his chest and resting it on his collar. He looked at me questioningly,

'What?'

I pulled him by his collar to me. I kissed his lips passionately and briefly pulling back for air, I whispered,

'You forgot the part where I am deeply in love with you…'

'Ah, but Roza, I thought that would be so obvious that I wouldn't have to say it.' Dimitri whispered in my ear and I smiled, pulling him down to the bed.

**A/N: Sorry for not updating but I've been catching up with Vampire Academy in time for Last Sacrifice xxx please review because I'll update quicker with more reviews! xxxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	23. Memory

**A/N: Yes I know! I took forever to update, but here in England, snow is causing lots of chaos and my homework feels like it has been doubled :( **

**Anyway, without further delay here is Chapter 23….**

'_Ah, but Roza, I thought that would be so obvious that I wouldn't have to say it.' Dimitri whispered in my ear and I smiled, pulling him down to the bed._

When I awoke, Dimitri was gone.

I lifted up my head to scan the room for him, but there was no-one in there with me. I sat up and pulled the covers around me to warm myself. I yanked them out of the folds underneath the mattress and stood up. They billowed around me as someone had left the window open. I approached the window and saw that overnight, a very light blanket of snow covered the ground. I frowned; that wasn't common. We hardly ever got snow. But when I walked out of the French doors and onto the balcony I could see how. It was freezing.

'Jesus!' I exclaimed, coming back inside. I could see and feel the goosebumps creeping up my arms. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms to warm them. I went to my wardrobe and picked out a hoodie and skinny jeans to wear. I could change later; I just needed to investigate this. It sounded stupid but snow was an odd occurrence in my eyes. I dressed, not bothering with makeup or styling my hair. I couldn't be bothered to use the stairs, so instead I jumped over the balcony and slid down the drainpipe. It was a trick I'd learnt during my truanting days and I still used it now and then. My feet, which were only clad by socks, hit the freezing cold ground below as I landed. I yelped silently at the temperature and cursed myself for not bringing shoes. I shrugged, dealing with it and gingerly walking forward. I looked back and could just make out my footprints in the dusting of snow. It was still pretty dark, but I mentally thanked my dhampir senses that ensured I saw everything I needed to see.

The snow was cold but it was pretty. I smiled, admiring the beauty of the trees and bushes which had white coverings. I stretched my hand out and tapped the broad leaf of a small tree. The snow on it slid off of the leaf and fell to the floor in a disorderly pile. I grinned; my childish side was making an appearance. I kneeled down and scooped up some of the snow. I smoothed it out in my hand and wrote my name in the white substance. I heard someone moving around behind me and in shock, I dropped the snow. I turned and relief washed through me,

Dimitri.

'Where were you?' I asked, approaching him. He raised an eyebrow at my outfit. My hoodie's zip had slipped down and I remembered that I had no bra on. The zip hadn't gone down much, but enough to expose a large amount of my cleavage. I zipped myself up, blushing.

'I was outside; I saw it was snowing. It snows sometimes in Baia…' he drifted off and looked up at the sky. It began to snow again, with tiny flakes landing in mine and Dimitri's hair. I smiled at his expression,

'You should really go to Baia. You need to tell your family that you're not dead. They were devastated when I told them…' I said, rubbing his arm, both warming him and giving him some comfort. He smiled weakly at me and murmured,

'I'm scared…'

I smiled encouragingly,

'Don't worry. They'll be more than happy to see you. We just need to convince them that you're real. I did say you were Strigoi-' I started.

'But they treated it as if I was dead? Yeah, I know. It happened when I was a child too.' Dimitri muttered and I nodded.

'Why?'

'They don't want to hold onto the fact that their loved one is… an evil undead being; quite rational really. So they say that they're dead to make the pain lessen. It won't completely go away, of course. But either way, their family member will never return to them…' Dimitri looked away and I instantly felt terrible. I remembered my feelings when he had been taken away from me and changed into that horrible monster. I shivered and it was neither to do with the outside temperature nor my bad choice of clothing. Dimitri noticed my silence and he instantly grabbed my hand. I let him take it, not squeezing his hand or anything.

I felt empty again.

It was like he was gone again.

'Rose? _Rose?_ _Roza?_' I heard a voice with a faint Russian accent say. But everything was dim.

Soon, I heard nothing and I was alone in a sad, dark blackness which clouded my view.

And then I woke up.

I sat up in bed, the room was warm, yet all the windows were open. I looked down and saw that I was laying on Dimitri's chest. I grinned at his sleeping form and eased myself out of the bed, without waking him up. I noticed that there was a grey blanket on the end of the bed so I took it, wrapping it around me much like my dream. I walked to the window and saw that there was no snow. I heaved a sigh of relief. I wasn't much keen on snow; anyway, it was freezing cold and usually made me fall on my ass. I stood on my balcony and revelled in the warm breeze that ran through the trees and tickled my exposed skin. I leant on the wooden post and sighed happily. I realised that Lissa had a mental block up and then remembered how she had ratted on me and Dimitri, causing this whole mess in the first place. But it wasn't her fault. It was ours. It was the stupid flower lust charm's fault. It was lots of people's faults.

'Roza?' I heard Dimitri call. I smiled and turned around, still grasping the blanket around me tightly. I leant back on the wooden post and he grinned at me. He was shirtless and only wore cotton sweatpants. I smirked back,

'Aren't you chilly, Comrade?' I teased and I turned back around.

'No way. I was wondering more about you…' he whispered in my ear, grabbing my waist and kissing my bare shoulder. I grinned, turning to face him.

'I guess you're probably used to this weather, right?' I laughed and he looked at me confused.

'How?' he asked, letting go of me; I instantly missed his touch.

'Well, it snows a lot, in Siberia. Right?' I said like it was an obvious fact; which it kinda was.

'Probably…?' he replied, looking even more puzzled.

'Dimitri… you would know… you lived there for most of your life!' I exclaimed, standing up and gripping his arm.

'Siberia? I don't remember living there…? I was born in America…. right?' he asked, looking suddenly terrified. I gasped,

'You're not joking around with me are you?' I whispered. He shook his head, walking back into the room. I followed him, pushing him into a seated position on the bed. He sighed and frowned, his expression one of deep concentration.

'No. I'm not. I… just don't remember…' he murmured, gripping my hand and rubbing circles into my palm. I couldn't believe he was soothing me, while he was the one with the problem.

'We need to take you to the clinic…' I pulled on his arm and he nodded. I got up, reaching for some clothes. The dreaded hoodie and skinny jeans from my dream were the first things in my wardrobe, but I overlooked them. A heart attack from Dimitri was the last thing I needed right now. I grabbed his hand, once he had changed into jeans and a T-Shirt. I almost ran through Court to get to the clinic. Dimitri couldn't lose his memory, but it was clearly getting worse. He was looking around as if he wasn't entirely sure where he was or where he was going to. I stopped as we reached the clinic doors. I placed my hands on his shoulders and stared into his eyes. He looked so very frightened. Taking his face in my hands, I spoke quietly and carefully,

'What's your name?'

'Dimitri… Belikov…' he eventually said.

'Good.' I smiled weakly and lead him inside. The doctor nodded at me and took him to a bed. He approached me,

'Don't worry. I thought you'd be here soon. Doctor Olendski informed me that he'd recovered from his coma. Amnesia and brain damage was sure to follow… I'm sorry…' he whispered and I began to tear up. I ran to Dimitri, whose eyes had just closed.

'Dimitri…! Dimitri!' I whispered loudly. His eyes slowly opened and he looked at me with confusion,

'Can I help you?' he asked. I leaned forward and kissed him sweetly.

But he pulled away.

'Who the hell are you?' he exclaimed and I almost fell over in shock.

'It's me! Rose! I'm your… girlfriend!' I whispered loudly, and tears spilled out of my eyes. He looked at me as if I was crazy.

'I'm sorry, _Rose_, but I don't know you…' he murmured.

I stood back and wiped my tears away roughly with the back of my hand.

'I love you, Dimitri.' I sat down in the chair next to him and he soon fell asleep.

'I'm so sorry Guardian Hathaway… but he might never regain his memory…' the doctor said.

Will my day get any better?

**A/N: Sorry it's a bad chapter, but can you please review? I only got 7 reviews for the last chapter.**


	24. Hospitals

**A/N: the amount of reviews was great, thank you :)**

I sat by his bed all day, my eyes closed. The doctors that came to examine him assumed I was asleep. But in truth, I was hoping, hoping with all I had that this was all just a nightmare; a horrible, terrifying nightmare. Yes, that's right. Soon I'd awaken and I'd be with Dimitri. He wouldn't have forgotten me. Dimitri would fight with all he had and beat the amnesia.  
But, try as I might, I couldn't wake up.  
Because it was no nightmare, not even a dream. It was all real. Dimitri had contracted amnesia and brain damage as a sort of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. His mind hadn't healed after the shooting incident and now it was shutting down.  
But was it permanent or temporary?  
Well, that was the question. The doctors that examined him concluded that there was no surefire way if determining his permanent mental state. A psychiatrist that visited even said that he may experience paranoia, schizophrenia and other horrible mental disorders. Doctor Olendski, who had been asleep when I delivered Dimitri, took one look at us and knew what had happened. She patted my shoulder and muttered something about him getting through this with the help of my love and my determination. But did I have either of those?  
Having your lover and soul mate openly deny the fact that he knows you isn't a great confidence booster. Hearing the murmurs and whispers of other patients echoed around the hall isn't much of soother either, especially when they're talking about how they always knew that the Great Rose Hathaway would fall due to something 'petty' as they put it.  
So there I was. Sitting in the slightly uncomfortable brown armchair by Dimitri's hospital bed, sighing. God, I needed him right now. It was almost ironic how at the exact point when I needed him the most, due to some sort of danger, that he should be the one I needed protection from. Granted, he wasn't a Strigoi anymore, so not as dangerous. But his subconscious mind, the one that only had the basic dhampir functions like breathing, eating, drinking and sleeping programmed into it, was scary. He had no room for love. Not anymore. He was literally incapable of loving another. His mind had no more space for feeble emotions. The male doctor from earlier on approached me and pulled up a chair too. We were silent for a moment before he spoke,  
'I... have... a theory...' he started. I almost laughed at his attempt of not trying to excite me. Jesus, I doubt even if a marching band came rushing through the clinic, I'd even flinch.  
'About Dimitri's memory?' I posed, no hint of emotion in my voice, like a verbal mask.  
'Yes. I have a drug… that stimulates memories to be brought forward in the brain. It wouldn't be permanent… he would soon return to his sleeping state, but it would give you a chance to talk to him.' I nodded immediately, not considering my actions. He sighed and forced a smile for me, standing and walking to the corner of the room.

'It will be administered as an injection. As all my colleagues are busy, I need you to help me. Is that okay?' he asked kindly, turning away to get the hypodermic needle ready.

'Of course.' I stood up, walking towards Dimitri. I had been slightly afraid to be near him because of the whole forgetting-me incident.

'Just ready his left arm. I'll inject it in the forearm,' he continued and I nodded. I moved his left arm into a better position for the doctor. Dimitri had been so tired, weirdly and he had simply collapsed onto the bed. I kissed his forehead lovingly and made sure he was totally comatose. The doctor came over, flicking the syringe and squirting a small amount of it to release the air bubbles.

'Okay. He should wake up almost immediately. You have roughly an hour to talk and then his mind will start to falter again. I'll leave you and if you need me, call me. No-one else; me.' I nodded and he leaned over, inserting the needle into Dimitri's arm. I saw his expression as the liquid entered his bloodstream; it was one of discomfort and pain.

'Will that hurt him?' I asked, shocked. The doctor paused before whispering,

'A little, perhaps. His mind is slightly confused by the transition. Don't worry; the pain will be over for him soon.'

After the syringe's contents had been injected into Dimitri, the doctor swiftly left, promising to be right outside the door if needed. I had quickly nodded and sat on the side of Dimitri's bed, gripping his other hand. I watched as his expression morphed from slight discomfort, to one of angst. He had gripped the sheets around him, still asleep, his muscles apparent. Then the worst emotion appeared.

One of absolute torture.

He cried out in pain and I leaned forward, kissing his face, trying to soothe him any way I could.

'Dimitri, no stop. It'll be over soon. I'm here, just please calm down.' I whispered, tears spilling from my eyes and landing on his T-Shirt as I gripped him close to me. His cries became semi-loud screams and at one point I swear I saw the male doctor, whose name I still didn't know, hovering closer to the door. Then, in a matter of seconds, his screams died down and became soft whimpers.

And his eyes flickered open.

I smiled at him, hoping that he'd smile back and be the old Dimitri. But I couldn't get my hopes up. Though, this could be one of the only ways for Dimitri to be Dimitri again, without his damaged mind showing through.

His eyes looked around the room and then focused on me. He grinned,

'Roza…' he murmured, sitting up and wrapping his arms around me in a flash. I felt like crying, this moment was so spectacular. I returned his embrace, stroking his hair as well.

'Why are you in the clinic?... Why am _I_ in the clinic?' he asked, confused. I chuckled,

'If you're in here, then I am too. I'll go anywhere with you.' I smiled, 'Well, you're having bad memory problems. You forgot that you lived in Baia, you thought that you were American… and…' I paused. I couldn't say it. It all just seemed like an impossible dream now. Dimitri was back, though for a short time.

'And?' he pressed.

'You forgot me.' I said, barely audible. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, before he pulled away and kissed me passionately. He tore away from me for a brief moment, only to whisper,

'Remember this, Roza…' he started.

'Is that some kind of pun, Comrade?' I interrupted and he laughed.

'No. But, well spotted. Remember this, Roza. I will always love you. There's a part of me which is dedicated to you 24/7. If I forget you, it's only because something is pretty badly wrong.' Dimitri murmured.

'Are you self-diagnosing yourself now, _Doctor_ Belikov?' I whispered, desperately trying to cover up my blushing with bad humour; typical me.

'No, Roza. I can just feel it. I can…' he drifted off, rubbing his arm in the same place as where the injection was administered. I caught his arm with my hand and looked at where the drug was injected. His veins were strikingly visible, but aside from that, it appeared fine.

'Roza… what's that…?' Dimitri whispered, glancing at his arm too.

As if I knew.

'It must be some kind of side effect of the drug we gave you…' I murmured and he lifted my face up to his level.

'You gave me a drug? Why?' he half-shouted. I covered his mouth with my hand and placed my finger on my own lips to silently tell him to shut up. He took my hand away from his mouth roughly. It hurt but I wasn't going to complain.

'Because,' I started, whispering calmly, even through the pain of my hand, 'Otherwise, you would have stayed in your vegetative state and I couldn't deal with sitting by your bed, with you denying that you knew who I was!' I said a bit louder.

'I can't believe I treated you like that…' he replied, hanging his head. I leaned forward and kissed his forehead,

'Don't worry… it's not like it's your fault. I don't love you any less…' I muttered, lifting his head to face me. My hand was really starting to hurt now. I tried to look at it subtly, without drawing Dimitri's attention, but he was perceptive as always. He grabbed my hand quickly, making the pain slightly worse. I could see my hand now too.

Uhoh.

Some of the fingers were red and I found it hard to move them. It hurt like hell now I'd seen the damage.

'Roza… I'm so sorry. I don't even know why I hurt you like that…' he leant down and kissed my fingers. Weirdly enough, that did sort of soothe me a bit. Must be some kind of psychiatric thing. I pulled my hand away gently and smiled at him. I had an idea, so I jumped off the bed, careful not to move my hand too much.

'Roza?' Dimitri's anxious voice asked. I raised my good hand, silently asking for quiet so that I could concentrate. I kneeled near the clinical waste bin and spotted the drug container that the doctor used for Dimitri. I was sure to put on some medical gloves, before reaching in and picking out the container. It was empty, not surprisingly.

I turned the bottle round till I spotted the sticker that explained it's uses and doses. It said:

**SIDE EFFECTS**

**Heightened emotional feedback**

**Adrenaline surge**

**Vein visibility apparent**

I nodded.

'What is it Roza?' Dimitri called. I smiled at the fact that he was clearly missing me already. I dropped the bottle back into the bin along with the used gloves.

'The doctor gave you a drug. It was to stimulate your memory and hopefully help you to remember things. It's not permanent, in an hour or so, you will start to forget again. The side effects from this drug caused you to hurt my hand. And your veins are only showing because that's what the drug does. You had an adrenaline rush, and you were angry at me, because I gave you the injection. Lots of strong emotions are a side effect too. Don't worry. It's not you doing this; it's your body's reaction to the drug.' I explained, wrapping my good arm around him. He smiled, even though his eyes portrayed a message of apology. I nodded, flexing the good fingers of my hand. He pulled me down into a lying position on the bed. I smiled at him and he returned it, gently cradling me like I was the most precious thing in the world.

And that's how we stayed, until the drug started to wear off.

Dimitri shifted around. I was half-asleep and the only thing keeping me falling off the bed was his strong arm around me. I was just that weak and I couldn't grab onto anything with my bad hand.

'Dimitri?' I murmured, closing my eyes. I couldn't take it; the rejection. I wanted nothing more than for him to have a prolonged memory, but it seemed that this was the best we could do. I felt him move again and I could feel my face warming as he breathed. He was staring at me, most likely because he didn't know why the hell he was in a strange room with a strange girl. Especially as the strange girl was cuddled into his side and holding onto his shirt with all the strength she could muster.

'Who… are… you?' he managed to say, eventually. I sighed and opened my eyes. I started to get off of the bed. I was planning on calling the doctor so that he could return Dimitri to his usual medicines.

But he grabbed my arm.

My good one, thank God. I turned around and looked at him, confused.

'Who are you?' he repeated, more forcefully, though not aggressively.

'I'm Rose Hathaway; a friend of yours. You're in hospital.' I explained, half-heartedly. We must have had this conversation at least 20 times today.

'I don't know you…' he started.

'That's because you're in here with bad memory problems. If you didn't have memory problems, then… then you wouldn't be asking who I was… you'd know instantly…' I sighed and tried to loosen his grip on my arm.

He wouldn't budge.

'Dimitri, I need to get the doctor.'

'Why? I'm not ill right now.'

'I told him that I'd get him when you were awake.' Slight lie, but who cares, he wouldn't remember anyway.

'Please… don't… leave me…' he whispered, looking away. I was instantly compelled to stay with him, so I sat back on the bed and waited until he was asleep again. I stroked his hair and ran my hand down his face. Even though he didn't touch me himself, I still felt the spark of electricity run through me from this action. When I could hear his heavy breathing, I eased myself away from him and to the main doors. The doctor was outside there. It was a chilly day and I felt bad for him having to wait out there,

'Thanks for doing that. It worked perfectly. He's gone back now, but it was… perfect. Thank you.' I grinned, still feeling Dimitri's kisses like fire on my skin. I leant on the desk next to the doctor. He looked down, smiling.

And then his glance went to my hand.

'What the hell did you do?' he half-yelled. He gently took my hand and examined the red fingers on it.

'This is definitely broken… four broken fingers. What did you do?' he calmed. I didn't reply.

'He got angry?'

I nodded. He intook a breath.

'You should have called me. I would have bandaged it for you. That must have hurt quite a lot, right?' he still held my hand and his cool fingers were probing my sore fingers. It was like heaven.

'Yeah, a little bit…' I muttered, closing my eyes and enjoying the feel of his touch.

'Rose?' I heard Dimitri call, anxiously. My eyes flicked open and I looked over to him. He was staring angrily at the doctor.

'Dimitri? What is it?' I asked, gently removing my hand from the doctor's loose grip. I strode over to Dimitri.

'He was… touching you…' Dimitri muttered and I almost cried tears of joy. Dimitri was actually jealous of the doctor. I smiled and pushed the hair out of his eyes.

'Don't worry… he was just examining me…' I whispered, trying to reassure him that he wouldn't find the doctor and I in bed any time soon.

'Examining you? Yes, that's _exactly_ what he was doing…' he said and I looked up at the doctor who was blushing furiously. How cute.

'Dimitri, that doesn't matter. I already have a boyfriend and it's not him.' I added.

'You… have… a boyfriend?' Dimitri asked, sadness portrayed in his eyes. I nodded. I wouldn't reveal his identity yet, though. What was the point? He'd soon forget anyway…

**A/N The longest chapter I've ever done! I loved writing it, so please review and make my day! **


	25. When Your Soul Mate Forgets Your Face

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I loved writing that last chapter :) **

'_You… have… a boyfriend?' Dimitri asked, sadness portrayed in his eyes. I nodded. I wouldn't reveal his identity yet, though. What was the point? He'd soon forget anyway…_

I sat with Dimitri, chatting and repeating facts about myself, his life and what he was doing in a hospital, all day. The only good thing about it was when he fell asleep. I know that sounds rude, but to me it was heaven. I wound my arms around his sleeping figure and kissed down from his forehead to the base of his neck. Automatically, he turned around and pulled me close to him. I smiled and leant my head into the crook of his neck, falling asleep myself.

When I woke up, I was still on Dimitri's bed, which shocked me. And so was he, which shocked me even more. I looked into his open eyes and my jaw dropped.

He wasn't moving away from me.

He was playing with my hair. I reached forward and stroked his face, not engaging in anything too romantic. Admittedly, it did surprise me that he didn't seem to have lost his recently gained memory yet, but I still wasn't ready. I would feel so alone again if he suddenly lost his memory while we were kissing or something.

'You're beautiful…' he muttered and I froze. He seemed to notice because he sat up and turned away from me. I sat up too and placed a hand on his shoulder. He sighed and stood up. I felt, almost, bad for lusting after him because he was only wearing jogging pants.

Then I realised something.

I needed to shower. Pretty urgently, it seemed, by the smell of me and the state of my hair. I jumped off the bed and made my way to the door. And it had to be at exactly the moment when the doctor came back. I cursed mentally at my bad fortune and avoided him as he passed by me.

'Ah, Guardian Hathaway…' he started. I held up my hands and ran out. Luckily, he grinned and nodded just before I left. I ran all the way to my dorm and showered quickly. I looked in my wardrobe, but the only clothes I could find were my shorts and cami; my training clothes.

'Oh well…' I muttered, pulling them on, as well as my black stiletto boots and my black and red arm-warmers. I don't know who the hell cleaned out my wardrobe but they were sure gonna pay for it. Looking into the bond I saw Lissa sitting in her room with large piles of all my clothing. She was giggling with Christian and I saw in her mind that they had planned it so that the only clothes I could wear would be very flirty. But who for? Ahh… Dimitri. I could see her thinking that now. I still hadn't talked to her since the whole Victor incident. I'd have to soon.

I made my way back to the clinic, smelling sufficiently sweet due to the fact that I was wearing my favourite perfume. I came back inside and sat in the chair next to Dimitri's bed yet again. The doctor came over and sat on Dimitri's bed, facing me. Dimitri must have gone for a shower or something too, because he wasn't here.

'What is it, Doctor….?' I started, trying to figure out his name. He smiled,

'Doctor Jones. And, I came to tell you that you can't rely on the drug anymore. His body is now immune to it. Every time you give it to him, he'll just experience crippling pain, no actual memory gain.' Doctor Jones said. My heart sank,

'I've lost the man I used to love?' I said, rhetorically, but the doctor answered.

'Well… I'd advise you to try dating someone else for a while. Not a permanent relationship, but just until his memory returns. And that could be months, years, decades…' I started to tear up, so I stood and turned around, so that he couldn't see me.

'Rose… if I may call you so… I… I think you're a beautiful, amazing woman. It won't be hard for you to find another person…' I heard him say and I felt him approach me from behind. I pretended to be dumb to it, just to see how things would play out.

'You… you think I'm beautiful?' I asked, unsure. I dropped my arms by my sides and stood still. His arms wrapped around my waist and he leaned in and whispered in my ear,

'Yes… I think you're beyond beautiful…' he kissed my collarbone and I leapt forward, turning around to face him. I stood in a guarding stance, my arms in fists in front of me.

'Don't… touch… me like that…' I muttered and he nodded, looking away. I stood back into a normal position.

'I'm sorry, Guardian Hathaway…' he muttered and he walked into his office. Dimitri came out simultaneously. His hair was semi-wet and he had different clothes on. Definitely a shower. I smiled at him and he half-smiled back. I must have been looking slightly panicked because he walked over to me and grabbed my shoulders,

'Are you okay?' he asked, worried. I nodded, uncertain and he smiled a full smile. The one I loved.

'Where did you go?' he asked.

'To have a shower. I smelt awful and my hair was pretty bad…' I blushed and he shook his head.

'No… you're always beautiful…' he muttered. I blushed and subconsciously reached forward to touch him. Was I falling in love with the same man again?

He noticed my hand approaching him, yet he made no attempt to stop it. I smiled at that. My fingers reached his skin and I lay my hand on his neck. He looked down at me and smiled slightly. I leaned up and pressed a kiss to his forehead. I heard him intake a breath and I felt a rush of pleasure from that thought. My lips left his skin and I began to walk away. But not before he grabbed my hand. I gasped, feeling that electricity that connected us coarse through my blood. I turned around, wanting unconditionally to be close to him.

'Please stay, Roza…' he whispered. And I did, yet again.

Moments with Dimitri were beauty incarnate. Not as heavenly as when he had his full memory, but still extremely romantic. I sat and chatted about my past, and was pleased when he sometimes remembered details about me.

'Roza… I do remember you doing that… I remember feeling… annoyed,' he laughed, 'at you…' he said, while I recapped a training session we had had a few weeks before he was turned Strigoi.

'That's great… do you remember me now?' I asked, a little impatiently.

'Sort of. I try and remember you, but all I see is a blur… I remember having a best friend… I also remember having a lover… but I don't know who they are…' he sighed, shrugging his shoulders. I smiled reluctantly, taking his hand. I limited myself to friend-to-friend contact, not willing to allow myself any more than that.

'That's fine… you're making great progress every day… it's remarkable…' I smiled.

'God, Roza, you sound like my personal psychiatrist…' he rolled his eyes and grabbed my shoulders, pushing me down on the bed that we sat together on. He lay on top of me and grinned. My heart started beating erratically at the thought of his body so close to mine. We were silent as the friendly joke stopped and we concentrated on each other's proximity. I stared into his chocolate brown eyes as he leaned down, brushing his lips against mine. I wasn't having any of that, however and I threw myself into it, kissing him passionately and pulling him down on top of me. I sighed as he began to trace kisses down my neck, stroking my hair as he went.

Then it kicked in.

That sickening feeling. That horrible sensation when you know you really, _really_ shouldn't be doing something.

I pushed him back and jumped off of the bed.

'I… I have to go… I'll see you… soon…' I called, jogging out of the clinic and running to my room. Why was my life so bad today?

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, but I had two Science exams, Last Sacrifice to read & lots of homework xx Apologies!**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	26. Doctor Jones

**A/N: Late update because I have been really busy with the run-up to Christmas & a concert that I went to with my good friend, ****playingwithfire102 **

**Just so you know, ****playingwithfire102**** has a new FanFic out, her first, and it's really good. It's RosexDimitri, of course ;) and it's called 'Will We Ever Have Time Alone?'**

**There's only, like, two reviews, so could you all please check it out and review it for her, it'll make her day ;) xx **

**Thank you,**

**BelikovsRoza1697**

**BTW: Disclaimers, I don't own Richelle Mead's talented mind.**

'_I… I have to go… I'll see you… soon…' I called, jogging out of the clinic and running to my room. Why was my life so bad today? _

I was playing my music relatively loudly, hoping to block out all the annoying voices in my head. _Go to Dimitri_, one said, reminding me strangely of the first lust charm I had experienced. _He loves you again_ another whispered. And then there was the oddly compelling lull: _Doctor Jones wants you… he loves you, find him, he's better than a lover who won't remember you tomorrow. _I rolled my eyes at my romance-confused brain and turned on my side to turn the music up. I closed my eyes as I lay on my bed, relishing in the beat of the music I listened to. An annoying knock on the door disturbed me from my relaxing state and I grudgingly sat up and opened the door. It was the doctor: Doctor Jones. _Oh joy_, I thought, remembering his wandering hands in the clinic.

'Yes?' I asked, somewhat rudely, I must say. He smiled at me and I beckoned him inside.

'You'll be pleased to hear that Dimitri's memory is starting to function again…' he smiled, walking in and standing opposite me. My mood suddenly lifted and I grinned,

'Really? How do you know?'

'I gave him some of a drug that I thought might provoke memories, much like the one we used before and he responded excellently. He identified me, where he was and…' he drifted off and looked at the window. I grabbed his arm, excited about the news.

'And?' I prompted and he turned back, faking a smile.

'He even questioned your whereabouts…' he said. My grin got even bigger and I hugged him in the heat of the moment. As I tightened my grip around him, I heard him groan slightly. I let go and saw that he had raised a hand to caress his left side.

'What's… wrong?' I asked, soothingly. He looked up and frowned.

'Nothing…' he muttered.

'Bullshit.' I replied and I pushed his hand away, pulling off his medical coat and lifting up his shirt. I noticed that his mildly tanned muscles were relatively attractive, as I probed his ribcage. There was a large bruise that was partly purple-ish present all over his rib area.

'What… how… how did you get that? You must have been hit pretty hard…' I muttered and he nodded slightly.

'When? I've only been gone about an hour. Did you leave the clinic? Who did it?' I asked, a flood of questions springing to my mind.

'I… I umm… don't worry about it…' he murmured, pushing me away gently and pulling his shirt down. He shrugged his medical coat back on. I nodded, sensing that he didn't want to talk about it. He smiled and walked out of the room. Now, I observed that he was walking oddly, with an almost unnoticeable limp in his step. I followed him out, closing the door behind me, not before grabbing my iPod and stuffing it onto my pocket.

'Coming to the clinic as well? He wants to see you…' Doctor Jones said quietly. I nodded,

'Yeah, I want to see him. Does he remember a lot?' I questioned, speed-walking to Dimitri.

'Yes, but sometimes he forgets which time period he's in. He wanted to know where Princess Dragomir was so he could _'tell her to inform Rose that he doesn't want to see her'_, I quote. When I told him that you'd been visiting him anyway, he remembered the correct time and apologised…' the doctor shrugged as we turned down a corridor and out onto main campus. I nodded,

'Anything else?' I asked, opening the door to the clinic and holding it for the doctor, who was lagging behind due to the limp. He thanked me and shook his head,

'No. I don't believe so… if you need me, I'll be in my office.' Doctor Jones began to walk up ahead, but not before I caught his arm.

'Hey, what's your first name?' I asked, smiling gently. He returned the smile graciously and said,

'Andrew…' and then he turned and left me alone with Dimitri. I sighed happily and approached Dimitri, who was sitting on the bed, his back facing me. I walked up behind him slowly and tried to see what he was doing, which was hidden by his tall figure. I walked around the bed and stood next to him. But before I could see what he was doing, he turned around and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me down to sit beside him. Then he looked away from me and was still.

'Why did you do it, Rose?' he asked, his mentor-voice firmly in place.

'Umm what?' I replied, reaching forward to take his hand. He moved back and glared at me,

'Jesse! Of all people! Why?' he half-shouted. I stood up, about to protest, but Andrew, the doctor, came out and touched my shoulder. I turned and he smiled, whispering,

'He's in another of those time-period-confusions that I mentioned. Just play along, he'll remember the truth soon. It's just his mind trying to cope with all these new memories.' Andrew took my hand and I was glad of his comfort. I couldn't believe that Dimitri had gone through all of this trauma, it was horrific.

'Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without your help.' I smiled and he nodded, turning into the light as he went to leave. I noticed a small bruise by his eye too. I caught his arm and questioned,

'Hey, where are all these bruises from?' he sighed and shrugged, letting go of my hand and walking back into the office. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Dimitri who was standing up too.

'Why do you just let every man that catches your eye touch you?' he glared at me again and I took a step back, slightly scared of him.

'What are you on about, Dimitri?' I asked, not having a clue what he was talking about.

'That doctor! Are you involved with him?'

'What? No!'

'Why do you let him take your hand then?' Dimitri folded his arms.

'Because I needed his support!' I replied, realising that our conversation had turned into a shouting contest. I remembered his Jesse comment, imagining that this was him scolding me for getting caught with Jesse Zeklos, without my shirt on.

'Why would you do that, Rose? Jesse is a user; he wouldn't treat you right… I—other people would…' he faltered and I smiled.

'I know _you_ would… that's why I love you…' I whispered, approaching him and unfolding his arms gently. He raised his eyebrow and I laughed,

'What are you doing, Rose?' he asked and I shook my head, cutting him off with a kiss. He responded, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me up. I hooked my legs around his waist as he kissed down my neck. I smiled and looked up to where the office was. I frowned as I saw the blinds being drawn down, by a pained-looking Andrew. Maybe he really did love me too. God I had problems.

'Dimitri… what happened to Andrew?' I asked and I let go of him, coming to rest seated on the bed.

'Who's Andrew?' he questioned and I remembered that he would only know him as Doctor Jones.

'Oh, Doctor Jones. He's got really bad bruises all over his ribs and one by his eye. What happened to him?'

Dimitri looked away and I noticed that he was examining his hands. I looked around his head and took both of his hands in mine, seeing the cuts on his knuckles.

'What the hell did you do?' I asked, my mind forgetting Andrew and his injuries. Dimitri sighed and looked at me, his eyes looking sorrowful. I reached up and touched his cheek,

'Hey, hey, don't worry. Please, just tell me…' I whispered and he nodded, straightening up and taking back his hands.

'The doctor… _Andrew_' he scowled as he said Doctor Jones' name, '… I was angry and I thought you were… with him…' he muttered. I suddenly realised that only one man could beat Andrew up as bad as that.

Dimitri.

I moved away from him and approached the office. I walked in and saw Andrew sitting at his desk, writing some notes. I strode over to him and sat in the seat opposite his desk. He looked up, smiling,

'Yes?'

'Why didn't you tell me that Dimitri was the one who beat you up?' I got straight to the point. I leant forward and rested my folded arms on the wooden table. He sighed and he started leaning forward too.

'Because he's your boyfriend and I didn't want to ruin your happiness at his memory gain.' Andrew stated and I saw the pained look in his eyes increase. I looked away, saddened.

'Why did he do it?' I asked, barely a whisper.

'He thought that I was taking advantage of you. I'm sorry, again, about the whole situation yesterday…' he shook his head and laid his hands out flat on the table. I took his hands and tried to console him,

'I'm not bothered about it, honest,' I lied, 'but you need to know that I'm not interested in other men. I only love Dimitri…' I admitted, shaking my head and shooting him a sympathetic look. He nodded,

'It's fine. I've treated the scarring so it won't actually hurt that much…' he muttered and I sat up, shocked.

'_Scarring?_' I exclaimed, jumping up and leaving the room to grab Dimitri's arm.

'You actually broke through his skin?' I yelled at him, tightening my grip on his arm. He sighed and nodded,

'I'm sorry for it, I was just angry. I thought he was…' he started… and I finished.

'Taking advantage of me, yeah I know. Well, he wasn't, so can you not beat up every guy that invades my personal space for a few seconds, okay?' I began to calm a little, due to his annoying ability to prevent me to be angry with him for more than a moment. He shrugged off my hold and took my hand, leading me back to the office.

'I'm sorry for injuring you, Doctor Jones. It was wrong, especially after all the help you gave me with my memory loss.' Dimitri said, professionally and I smiled at Andrew, who we had caught with his shirt completely off. My eyes widened and I felt Dimitri tense beside me. God, his muscles _were_ gorgeous. I wanted so badly to reach forward and feel his flesh. I sensed my hand twitch and mentally cursed. I already had a boyfriend and I was checking out another guy. Andrew looked up and blushed slightly at the compromising position we were in. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it on. I saw now the small scars running from his cheek, down his neck and down his right side. I had no idea how those had been caused, until I looked onto his desk and saw a medicinal bowl with bloody glass shards in it, along with a needle and thread, where he'd clearly been stitching up his wounds.

'That's perfectly fine, Mr Belikov…' Andrew waved his hand dismissively. I turned to Dimitri and whispered in his ear,

'What did he crash into then?' I asked, gesturing subtly to the bowl with the small glass shards inside. Andrew had turned around and was now moving the needle and thread across the room for sterilisation. Dimitri nodded, remembering the incident,

'I think I threw him into a window…' he looked away and I rolled my eyes.

'Just a little bit over the top there, Comrade?' I muttered and he chuckled softly, kissing my cheek. I grinned and posed a question,

'Andrew, can Dimitri be discharged yet?' Andrew turned and smiled weakly,

'Of course. If you have any problems, don't hesitate to find me.' I smiled as he turned back to his work. I pulled Dimitri out of the office and into the main clinic, where we took his stuff and returned to my room.

'We're pretty much free to do whatever for a few days, I'm off on sick-leave and you're off with me…' Dimitri trailed his hand up my arm and I failed to raise an eyebrow again.

'Really? That's great. We could have a house party!' I exclaimed, an idea hitting me. Dimitri frowned and rolled his eyes,

'Oh sorry, I forgot about your lack of social skills… we could just go out together I guess?' I smiled and he shrugged,

'Seems to be the only thing to do. Where do you want to go?' he asked. I considered for a moment before deciding,

'Russia.' I watched Dimitri's smile turn into a grin,

'Russia it is…' he murmured, before proceeding to kiss me.

**A/N: Thank you so much! I hit 200 reviews! Although, I have some bad news: I really want ****playingwithfire102**** to get more reviewers so, therefore, I will not update until she has at least 10 reviews for her story. Sorry and thank you for brightening each of my days with reviews :)**

**Thank you  
BelikovsRoza1697**


	27. From Russia With Love

**A/N: It took almost no time at all to get ****playingwithfire102**** to over 10 reviews, thank you if you were one of the reviewers! **

'_Russia.' I watched Dimitri's smile turn into a grin,_

'_Russia it is…' he murmured, before proceeding to kiss me._

I had been sleeping peacefully, having a similar dream to that which I had had the night Dimitri had found Lissa and I in Portland. Except this time, the hot guy bore a striking resemblance to my Russian lover. Unfortunately, my relaxing slumber was disturbed by a sudden movement. My eyes opened immediately, assessing the situation. I was still half-asleep so my vision was slightly blurry, but even my poor senses couldn't miss the fact that I was lying in someone's arms. Someone's warm, muscled arms.

Ah, hello Dimitri.

Sadly, he wasn't asleep. He was carrying me somewhere. _Damn his strength_, I thought, imagining me trying to lift him. Now that _would_ be funny. Back to the matter at hand, I shifted around in his arms.

'Woken up this time, Roza?' he asked. I detected the hint of grin in his words, even though I wasn't looking at him. I looked up and shot him a confused look,

'What do you mean, _this time_?' I questioned, reaching up to wrap an arm around his shoulders. He was fully dressed and I was still in my pyjamas which consisted of a black T-Shirt and black shorts. He had led me into the bathroom and now he simply holding me, chatting.

'Well, you kept talking… in your sleep. You should really learn to keep your thoughts to yourself, Roza.' Dimitri grinned, letting me down. I stood and faced him, my hands on my hips.

'Oh yes? What did I say?' I asked and he raised one perfect eyebrow.

'Let's just say it was R-rated, for sure. What were you dreaming about?' he grinned and pulled me closer.

'Oh, just me… at the beach… with some guy…' I murmured, trailing my hand up his chest and stopping just by his collarbone.

'Some guy?' he asked, trying as hard as possible to conceal the jealously in his voice. It failed and I chuckled softly. I leant forward and pressed my lips to his briefly.

'Uhuh. He was so hot…' I whispered in his ear and his hold tightened on me. I laughed outright then and pulled back to look at him.

'Don't worry, Comrade. It was you…' I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out. He grinned and kissed me passionately for a moment, before letting go of me and stepping back.

'And where do you think you're going?' I enquired, going to the bathroom mirror to examine how bad my bed-head was. He looked at me like I had gone insane.

'You're about to have a shower, I'm not staying here to watch. That's just perverted.'

'So? You've seen me naked before.' I grinned and he rolled his eyes, 'Why we up so early anyhow?' I asked, raking my fingers through my hair to try and get it into some kind of order.

'The trip to Russia. We need to get up early so we don't miss the flight. I booked it last night.' Dimitri replied, walking towards me and brushing back my hair. I smiled as he kissed my collarbone.

'A little bit over-prepared?'

'I needed to be. I needed to arrange accommodation for us.' Dimitri replied, letting go of me and walking out, calling out a quick,

'Hurry up, Roza!'

I complied, undressing and getting into the shower.

A few hours later, we were on a plane destined for St. Petersburg. I had been so tired from all the rushing around that Dimitri had to almost drag me around the airport and onto the plane. Not that he had minded. In fact, he was enjoying the whole looking-after-Roza thing immensely. While the air hostess was trying to decipher where our seats were, I had almost collapsed with fatigue. Dimitri had picked me up into his arms just in time though, so I hadn't fallen onto the hard plane's floor.

Dimitri had been a sweetheart and booked the luxury seats, so that we had larger, more comfortable seating. I even got a TV which pleased me for the whole journey, which took about 11 hours. Dimitri had packed about 20 of his boring Western novels, which he began to read at the beginning of the flight. After about 2 hours of his reading and my television watching, I stood up and moved to his seat. I stood in front of him and he looked up at me,

'Yes?' he asked, putting the book aside. I grinned and sat on his lap,

'Jesus Christ, Rose, you weigh a ton!' he muttered and I playfully swatted him with my hand.

'Joking…' he murmured in my ear, kissing down my neck. I smiled and pulled his face to mine, kissing him softly.

After a somewhat brief make out session, I fell asleep with him. The feel of his muscled chest rising and falling as he breathed was so utterly relaxing that the sleep I'd missed this morning came back to me. Sure, it wasn't great to sleep during the precious time I had with Dimitri, but I was so comfortable that refusing to give into fatigue was almost impossible. While I half-slept, Dimitri moved me to his side so that I'd be more comfortable. He draped an arm around me and I lay my head on his chest. I began to fall into the familiar feel of an Adrian dream-walk…

_I was laying in the grass, my head laying in someone's lap. I looked up and saw it was Adrian. He didn't look so good though, so I smiled,_

'_Hey what's with the face?' I asked, sitting up and turning to face him. He looked up and I saw a flash of snarky attitude appear in eyes, _

'_I was born with it.' he replied, sticking his tongue out. I rolled my eyes,_

'_You know what I mean. What's bothering you?' _

'_I have a confession to make…' he said, standing. His attitude was gone now and instead it was replaced by a solemn look. I stood also and frowned,_

'_About…?' I started. The whole ambience of the dream had dramatically changed from cheery and relaxed to tense in a matter of seconds. I didn't like it at all. _

'_I… oh Rose, before I tell you, you have to know that I totally regret it and I promise you, that it was unplanned… I didn't mean to hurt anyone…' he mumbled and I touched his arm, smiling at him,_

'_Hey, don't worry. Just tell me.' I encouraged, but then suddenly a feeling of nausea swept over me. I frowned, confused. _

'_You're waking up, Rose… I'm so sorry…' Adrian whispered and before I could respond, I was pulled back into the real world…_

An announcement from the pilot had woken me, unfortunately I had missed the English version and now they were repeating it Russian. I shook Dimitri forcefully and he woke up, ready for action. I laughed at his shocked expression.

'What are they saying?' I whispered in his ear. He grinned and listened in. After a few moments of silence between us, he nodded,

'It's just a routine announcement. We'll be landing in about 30 minutes. That flight went quickly…' he muttered and I nodded. Not even _I_ usually slept for that long. And there was Adrian's guilt. What had he done? _I didn't mean to hurt anyone_ he had said. So he had hurt someone. But who?

'Rose, I arranged for us to stay at a hotel in St. Petersburg. In the morning we can look around. When we arrive in Russia, it will be a lot later, so there's no sense in going anywhere but our accommodation.' Dimitri explained and I nodded, resting back against him again. His arms wound around my waist and pulled me closer and we waited patiently for the plane to land.

When we had landed, collected our bags and made our way to the hotel, Dimitri checked in and it finally gave us a chance to ourselves. He was getting a stronger accent when he spoke due to the sudden increase of him speaking his mother-language. It made him even sexier and made me even more attracted to him, which I didn't think was possible. I lay down on the bed while he unpacked for me, God bless him. I sighed and closed my eyes, gripping the soft white sheets covering the double-bed. The sublime feeling of comfort overtook my senses and I felt utterly relaxed.

This feeling only increased once the bed moved and I was joined. Strong arms encircled my waist and pulled me closer. I smiled and opened my eyes, meeting Dimitri's instantaneously.

'My beautiful Roza…' he murmured, leaning down and kissing me tenderly. I instantly responded, pressing up closer to him and wrapping my arms around his chest. A knock on the door prevented any more intimate actions and Dimitri let go of me to answer it. His voice changed from slightly annoyed to very happy in a matter of seconds as he assessed the person at the door. He moved and I saw them.

Viktoria.

'Viktoria!' I shouted, overjoyed, getting off of the bed and running to her. I hugged her tightly and she returned it, muttering a brief _sorry_ in my ear. I nodded, smiling. She returned her eyes to Dimitri, looking him up and down with a suspicious look in her eyes. I took her hand and whispered in her ear,

'Don't worry. He's truly a dhampir… I should know…' she smiled at me, approaching her brother. He half-smiled and hugged her. It took a few moments, but soon she hugged him back.

'We thought you were dead, Dimka…' she muttered, though why she said it in English, I don't know.

Viktoria, Dimitri and I had dinner together in the room and Viktoria told us of how she and Sonya had travelled down from Baia to St. Petersburg for a short vacation. Viktoria had spotted Dimitri and I entering the hotel and she had followed us, while Sonya went back to their rented house. She had even called Sonya to tell her of her discovery. I held onto Dimitri's hand tightly throughout our conversation and when the time finally came for Viktoria to go and Dimitri and I to go to bed, I became very happy.

Falling asleep instantly, I pondered Adrian's words. What the hell did he mean?

**A/N: There won't be another update till at least past Christmas as I'll be away. Merry Christmas! **


	28. What Did Adrian Do?

**A/N: Hope you all had a pleasant Christmas. I am planning on ending this story soon, so savour it while you can! Thank you for all the reviews and alerts you gave me :) I am trying to aim for 300 reviews before I finish, so could you please review if you read this? **

**Thank you xxx**

_Falling asleep instantly, I pondered Adrian's words. What the hell did he mean?_

I woke up in the middle of the night. I was surprised, first of all because Adrian hadn't visited my dreams to tell me the thing he had done wrong and secondly because Dimitri wasn't with me. Adrian must have felt pretty bad, seeing as he was so het up about telling me. Had he used compulsion on me?

Unlikely. He wouldn't cross that line. And if he had, it would only be because I would have asked him, like the time I asked him to kiss me. The truth was that I had absolutely no idea what he had done. Focusing back on the fact that Dimitri had done a runner; I got out of bed and walked around our room. He wasn't in the shower, ergo not the bathroom either, nor was he in the main lounge part. I pulled on one of the supplied hotel dressing gowns and walked downstairs to the reception.

'Err… hello, I'm looking for my… umm… well he's called Dimitri? Dimitri Belikov? Did he come through here?' I asked, speaking slowly and carefully to the Russian receptionist. She smiled,

'Your husband? Yes, he told me to tell you to that he has gone out for a while. He'll be back soon…' she said, uncertainly. Speaking in a foreign tongue must have been something she was uncomfortable doing. I think she might have been mistaken with the whole 'husband' thing. I didn't remember being intimate with Dimitri when we booked our room, so I didn't know where she had gotten the idea that we were married from.

'He told you that we were married?' I asked, feeling a hot flush run through me at that impossible thought.

'No, I assumed. Unless you're brother and sister?' she asked, passing me the register. It said:

**Дмитрий ****Беликов**** & ****Роза****Беликов****a - гостиничном номере 47**

She pointed at the first two names and smiled,

'It says Dimitri Belikov and Roza Belikova. He told me to write that…' she grinned, 'You're… together?' she asked and I nodded.

'Mmm he's a little bit older than you, I see…' she said, no trace of disgust in her words. I nodded again,

'We're in love, but it's frowned upon back in America. He's Russian and we're having a vacation here.' I explained and she nodded, taking back the register.

'Yes, I know his grandmother,' she murmured and she looked up to smile at me again, 'she helped me once. She predicted the day I would meet my long-lost brother. He was in danger and because she told me, I managed to save him.'

'That's amazing… Yeva, you mean?'

'Yes… she has a gift…' she smiled at a memory and stood up.

'My name is Galina. Galina Porivay.' I flinched slightly at the fact that her name was the same as Dimitri's old mentor, whom he lived with when he was Strigoi. She held out her hand and I shook it,

'Rose. Rose… Belikova.' I winked and she laughed softly,

'What is your _real_ name?' she grinned and I leant forward, whispering,

'Hathaway. Rose Hathaway.'

'_The_ Rose Hathaway?' she exclaimed, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping. I noticed that she was a dhampir, like me. I nodded, blushing slightly at her recognition of me.

'You're famous here! You turned a Strigoi back to a dhampir…' she whispered and I nodded.

'I know. He's with me at the moment.' I grinned and her eyes widened again.

'Dimitri? He was the one?' she said, trying desperately to keep her voice down. I laughed and nodded.

'My bond-mate actually saved him. I helped though.' I admitted, wrapping my arms around myself to conserve my body-heat. She smiled and nodded,

'Vasilisa Dragomir. Yes, we know about her too. She _is_ expected to be the next Queen.'

'Mmm I know,' I nodded and realised that I should probably be getting dressed, 'what time is it?'

'Around 7 o'clock in the morning.' Galina said and I thought about how different things were on a non-vampiric schedule. The light streaming through the windows had fooled my mind into thinking that it was the dead of night. No, it was the human daytime.

'Thanks… well, I'd better be getting dressed. I'll see you around, Galina.' I smiled and she grinned,

'Yeah, you and I should totally go for a coffee or something,' she called as I turned away. I nodded, smiling again and walking back to my room. Dressing in the nearest clothes I could find, I set out and left the hotel and began to wander the streets. I pulled up the hood of my black top, obscuring my face. In fact, it covered me so much that even my own lover didn't recognise me. Dimitri strode past me, his hands in his pockets and his head held high.

'Hello to you too, Comrade…' I muttered, grinning. He turned around, a puzzled expression colouring his features. He looked closer at me and smiled, recognising me,

'Sorry, I didn't know you were awake…' he said, approaching me and wrapping his arms around my waist. I smiled, leaning up to kiss him. He responded, brushing his soft lips against mine gently.

'What were you doing?' I asked, playing with the hem of his shirt. He raised an eyebrow,

'I bought you something… I wanted to tell you later, but now seems like a pretty good time…' he explained, pulling a small box out of his pocket. It was covered with black velvet and reminded me of a jewellery case. My heart suddenly leapt in my chest and the realisation that Dimitri had got me what seemed to be quite an expensive present dawned on me. Neither of us had that much money, what he was doing was possible the sweetest thing anyone could do for me. I smiled as he handed the box to me. It wasn't the size of a ring box, so he wasn't proposing. And what shocked me the most was that I didn't feel upset about that. I realised that a marriage between us wouldn't make us any closer, it was just two rings and a ceremony. No, we didn't need that. We were already bonded. Not like Lissa and I, but Dimitri and I were bonded with love. Everlasting love.

I opened the box and smiled. It wasn't a ring, like I'd thought, it was a diamond necklace. My jaw dropped as I examined it. The main part was a small white diamond with smaller red jewels surrounding it. It was simple and it's simplicity was what made it so beautiful.

'Oh my God… thank you, Dimitri, thank you so much…' I managed to say before he kissed me soft and slow, with a passion that blew my mind. I responded, kissing him back as fiercely. We broke apart eventually and he pulled me close.

'That's okay… I just really wanted to buy you something… to show how much you mean to me…' he smiled and I grinned back, I was in a state of euphoria.

Later on, we returned to the hotel and back to our room. Dimitri announced that he was taking me out for dinner, so I dressed in a black knee-length dress, with the necklace that Dimitri had given me. I departed the hotel, winking at Galina at the front desk, with Dimitri and he led me to a large restaurant down the road. It was beautiful, the elaborate wallpaper proved as much.

We were seated at a small table, which was simply decorated by a rose in a vase. I smiled at that. I noticed that every table had a single flower decorating it. In fact, it was almost ironic how we got the table with a rose.

'You look beautiful, Roza…' Dimitri murmured, taking my hand and kissing my cheek gently. I blushed and a warm feeling spread through me at his touch.

'Thank you…' I replied, gripping onto his hand like a lifeline. He smiled and we continued our night in pleasant bliss.

Two courses and a glass of wine later, I brought a new topic of conversation up. The weird message Adrian had conveyed to me.

'He visited me last night. He kept apologising for something. And he said _I didn't mean to hurt anyone_' I explained, frowning in concern. Dimitri shrugged, looking interested, but totally bewildered by Adrian's words, as was I. Then a glint of shock resounded in Dimitri's eyes and I grabbed his hand.

'What? What is it?' I asked, knowing for certain that Dimitri realised what Adrian meant.

'I… I… I'll tell you at the hotel… but I do know what he was talking about…' Dimitri whispered, looking away. I nodded, rubbing circles into his hand. He smiled weakly at the contact and I leaned over the table and kissed his cheek.

While we walked home, the bright moon coloured our path for us. Dimitri held onto my hand tightly and I stuck close with him, to give him reassurance. We entered our hotel room and I removed my heels, slinging them into a corner. I lay on our bed, the ruffles on the back of my dress spread around me as I relaxed. Dimitri came and sat on the other side of the bed and I reached up to his face, smoothing out his frown. He leaned down and kissed down the side of my face to my neck. I smiled in pleasure, pushing him back and sitting up.

'Tell me what you know, Dimitri. What did Adrian mean?' I asked, leaning into him. He stroked my hair and murmured,

'I don't want you to hate him… but…' he paused, 'Adrian was the one who shot me…' he sighed, laying his head on mine.

**A/N: Pardon the long wait for the next chapter, but I recently developed quite a bad cough and I've been pretty ill. I'm just getting ready to go to a New Year's Eve party, so I thought I'd update quickly. Please review, I'd really like to see a lot of reviews in my Inbox tomorrow :)**

**Happy New Year!**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


	29. One Flashback and it All Makes Sense

**A/N: Thank you for my reviews. I really would like to hit 300 for the finish, so please review, whether it be compliment or complaint.**

'_Tell me what you know, Dimitri. What did Adrian mean?' I asked, leaning into him. He stroked my hair and murmured,_

'_I don't want you to hate him… but…' he paused, 'Adrian was the one who shot me…' he sighed, laying his head on mine._

I gasped, pulling away from him and staring at him, wide-eyed. Why wasn't he as shocked as me at this revelation? My ex-boyfriend and close friend had shot him and he wasn't even slightly perturbed. Why would Adrian do such a thing anyway? It's wasn't like he had anything to gain from Dimitri's death or serious injury. And after he had committed the deed, why did he fess up? Adrian's devil-may-care attitude to life surely suggested that he wouldn't admit to shooting someone.

_I didn't mean to hurt anyone_. But he had, big time. Dimitri was injured physically and I was in mental pain. Yeah, I wasn't present at the incident, but losing Adrian for his crime and almost losing Dimitri to the consequences was driving me mad.

But there was no way Adrian would ever go to court and be tried. In fact, his mother and her Legend-Lawyer cousin would have found a loophole in the law to get him off before he'd taken one step inside the courtroom.

Why would he do that? And to me, of all people. Wasn't I mean to be the supposed 'love of his life', who he had difficulty getting over? Clearly not, if that's how he dealt with emotional pain. Or, maybe shooting Dimitri was some kind of punishment to him for having me when he couldn't? That fit what the facts suggested, to my knowledge. Adrian orders Dimitri to call me in Russia and tell me to move on because he didn't love me anymore. Dimitri refuses, so Adrian shoots him. That fitted perfectly, sadly.

'Don't think of him as some kind of sadistic gunman who got jealous, I promise you that that wasn't his motive.' Dimitri said finally, after a long, uncomfortable moment of silence. I remembered how well he could read me. He probably saw my Jealous Adrian idea occur in my mind and flash in my traitorous eyes. I had been looking away from him throughout my little thought session and now I returned my eyes back to his face. I tried, unsuccessfully yet again, to raise an eyebrow, instead raising them both. A small smile played on his features, but it soon disappeared again once he remembered the matter at hand.

'Don't look at me like that. I'm not crazy. Adrian told me why he had come after he had shot me,' he started and then he waited for a signal from me to begin his story. I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on my hips, waving my hand in a rotating gesture, silently telling him to get on with it.

'I was in my room, reading and wondering whether or not I should call you, when Adrian knocked on my door…

_*Flashback*_

_I opened the door and saw Adrian. Smiling, I asked him what he wanted, to which he said,_

'_I have something important to talk to you about. But it's private. Can I come in so we can talk without anyone hearing?' he looked really uncomfortable and his right hand kept twitching as if he wasn't sure what to do with it. I nodded slowly, fully opening the door and letting him in. I closed the door and turned my back to him while I went to put my book away. I heard Adrian lock the door and approach me from behind. I froze as I felt his gun press into my back. I turned my head, uttering,_

'_Why?' he sighed and pushed the gun into my back further, making me sit down on my bed. I complied, turning to fully face him and he raked a hand through his hair, keeping the gun trained on me. _

'_Call Rose.' Adrian said, simply, handing me the phone. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow but he rolled his eyes and raised the gun so it was aimed at my head. I lifted my hand to begin typing the numbers, trying to be slow to get extra time. Once I had finished, however, Adrian spoke,_

'_Speaker phone…' the tension was thick in his voice. I noticed that the hand holding the gun was shaking, visibly. He wasn't used to this, thank God. I complied, pressing the accept button and then the speaker button. He stepped away slightly, allowing me space to talk to my beloved without her hearing him instructing me. _

'_Hey…' Rose's beautiful voice said uncertainly. _

'_Rose…' I replied, keeping my frustration out of my voice as much as possible. _

'_Dimitri, I'm sorry, honest…' she whispered. I winced, remembering how she had left me. I looked up as Adrian said,_

'_Tell her that you're moving on.' I almost fainted at that thought. My eyes widened, but the gun was too threatening, so I did as I was told._

'_It's no matter. I can see that you've moved on...' I said, gripping the bedsheets next to me for support. _

'_Moved on? What the hell?' she protested and I smiled slightly. I'm glad she hasn't lost her bravado. _

'_Make an excuse. She's probably latched onto a new guy anyway.' Adrian shrugged and I nodded,_

'_I talked to Alberta today and she said that your flight wasn't scheduled for another week. So you clearly didn't want to stay with me. Plus, I got a call from a friend of mine, who says that you're quite happy with another man. So I'm telling you that I understand that you've moved on.' I breathed in a sharp breath in my agitated mood. _

'_Dimitri, I can't deal with this. I'll call you later and we can talk about this properly…' she said, in a pained voice, hanging up on me. I looked up to Adrian, _

'_Now what?' I asked, placing the phone next to me and clasping my hands together. Adrian simply sat on a chair opposite me, the gun never moving from it's position. _

'_We wait. She'll call back soon.' Adrian murmured, his left hand, which wasn't holding the gun, tightened into a fist. _

'_Adrian, I don't know why you're doing this, but even a blind man can see that you don't want to carry it through.' I said, gently. He sighed and began to rake a hand through his hair, pausing to grip his hair tightly. He groaned quietly and let go. _

'_I just have to… I'm sorry… but I-' he started, but he was interrupted by the phone ringing. He pointed to it and I picked it up off of the bed, putting it on speaker phone as before,_

'_Dimitri…' Rose whispered, almost soothingly. My breathing was ragged from lying to her and having a gun pointed at me. I couldn't reply. I just couldn't. If I spoke, I'd either tell her to move on and thus condemn my 'spared' life to one of misery and pain without her, or I'd confess that I loved her and get myself shot by a psychically imbalanced teenager. Neither option was very appealing._

'_Tell her you're moving on!' Adrian whispered loudly, pushing his arm forward to emphasise the fact that my death was imminent if I didn't reply. _

'_I believe that your giving up on me gives me clearance to move on also...' I said, finally manning up. I knew that she had burst into tears, but Adrian glared at me, so I continued, 'I will move back to Russia to my family. Perhaps I'll find a woman who will be a more suitable partner.' I hated the evil words that were spilling out of my mouth, but Adrian's weapon was pressurising me to make a self-defensive decision. _

'_I'm not cheating… I love you…' she murmured, most likely incapable of making a sound any louder. I gulped, why did she have to say those words? Adrian walked towards me, clearly tired of my games. He leaned down to my level and clicked the gun into place, aiming at my chest. _

'_I… don't believe you. You wouldn't have left otherwise.' I said, the first words that I thought of springing to my lips. I knew that my voice gave me away and I was clutching at straws, knowing that one way or another, I was going to suffer soon. _

'_I know you don't mean that. I can hear it in your voice...?' she said, confused. I sighed and groaned. But she continued, 'Dimitri! Why are you lying? Is there someone there?' finally she had understood. And now was the time for me to make my decision. Rose or my life? Rose or my life? _

_And then suddenly, in that one moment, I chose._

'_Rose I love you! I always will-'_

_And Adrian finally got the guts to shoot me. Firing once, a bullet hit my chest and I fell, letting go of the phone. I faintly heard Rose's scream as I saw the colours of the room around me morphing into black and white shapes. I saw a shaking boy lean down and frantically begin to speak,_

'_Oh God, Dimitri… I'm so sorry. I don't know why I did that… I was only planning to threaten you! I wanted to see how much you loved Rose!' he touched at my wound, and when he brought his fingers back, I saw dark red blood on them. I groaned quietly at the impact o the sudden intense pain. He continued, 'I guess that once I knew that you were truly the guy for her, I wanted you dead because you have her and I don't! I never meant to shoot you, you have to believe me! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I-' he was cut off when I faded out and blackness swallowed my consciousness…_

_*End Flashback*_

I stared at him as he concluded his story.

'Then when I next woke up, you were by my side, trying to get me to talk to you through the heart monitor…' he smiled and stuck his tongue out at me. I couldn't help but smile at him, kissing his cheek gently.

'I still fail to see what Adrian did to deserve my sympathy here…' she whispered to herself, but I replied anyway.

'I know what you mean, but after thinking about it at dinner, I think I can figure it out. He came originally to see if, threatened with death, I would give you up. I imagine that he expected me to save myself, but when I shocked him by refusing to stop loving you, he had some kind of mood-switch. Instead of his normal attitude, some kind of defensive, protective-of-you side came out and this caused him to shoot me out of jealousy. It wasn't Adrian and it isn't Adrian's fault that I was injured.' Dimitri concluded and I rolled my eyes. I reached forward and pulled off his jacket. He raised an eyebrow at me, probably thinking I was in a passionate mood today. Far from it, I wasn't interested in sex right now. I unbuttoned his shirt and ran my fingers lightly over his wound. He flinched slightly, most likely at my touch and not at the pain.

'It still doesn't excuse _this_.' I said the word with a slight venom to my voice, but I quickly whispered, 'Not to say that you look bad with it, it makes you look sexier…' I grinned and he rolled his eyes. He lay his hand over mine on his chest and stared into my eyes,

'_This_ will heal over eventually and leave a tiny spot or something. I'm no longer in pain like I thought I'd be. Stop worrying and do _not_ give Adrian a hard time. This is like what you continually say to me about 'forgiving myself and moving on'. It's hard, right? Well, now you know how it feels.' Dimitri let go of my hand and turned away, buttoning up his shirt again. I sat on the edge of the bed. He was right, it was a similar situation and I was being a bitch. But seeing Dimitri injured was hurting me more than anything I'd ever experienced before. I leaned over my handbag and took out my cell, all without Dimitri noticing. I dropped the cell in my dress, resting it in my bra. No way was Dimitri gonna look there. I hoped.

'I'm going to go mull things over outside… go to sleep. I'll be back soon.' I whispered in his ear as I passed him. He nodded and moved into the bathroom.

Closing the door behind me, I ran outside and dialled Adrian's cell quickly. It rung a few times before I heard an uneasy voice pick up,

'Rose…' Adrian said, sounding guilty as hell.

'I know what you did. Dimitri got his memory back.' I said simply and I heard a deep breath being inhaled by him.

'I'm really sorry… do you know why I did it? Or do you think I'm just a freak, desperate to see Dimitri dead?' he didn't say it sarcastically. He said it with a large amount of regret lacing his words. I smiled weakly, feeling compassion for my friend.

'I know why you did it and even if I didn't, I'd never think such bad things about you. I love you, Adrian. Not like Dimitri, but I do want you in my life forever. I'd die without you. I don't care about your craziness, I don't care about your quirks, I don't care about your drinking and smoking. I love you for the person that you are. I know you never meant to hurt Dimitri and I know that you just had a little crazy moment.'

'You're blowing it off? I _shot_ your boyfriend!' he exclaimed and I smiled a stronger smile.

'I know, but Dimitri doesn't feel any anger towards you and if he can forgive you, so can I.' I felt my confidence boost as I said those words. Truly, Dimitri had taught me a most valuable lesson. Forgiveness. Adrian was silent for a few moments, most likely stunned at my sudden change. I was proud at finally making Adrian Ivashkov shut up _without_ removing my clothes.

'He's changed you…' he murmured, finally and I instantly felt defensive. Was he saying my change was a bad thing? My silence must have made him explain as he quickly added,

'For the better. He's changed you so much and now I can let go of you, firm in the knowledge that he can take care of you and give you what you desire…' he concluded and I felt my heart leap.

'Thank you… so much… you're amazing Adrian…' I stammered, a grin spreading on my lips.

'That's okay, Little Dhampir… I'll see you back at Court soon, okay? I miss you…' he finished, bidding his goodbyes. I returned them, promising a speedy return. Hanging up, I wandered back inside the room, straight into Dimitri arms. I gasped at the shock of it, but soon leaned into him, enjoying his embrace,

'Well done… I knew you'd be able to do it…' he murmured, kissing my hair and rubbing my back soothingly. I leaned up and kissed him slow and gentle,

'You know, Comrade, forgiving's pretty easy…' I admitted and he raised an eyebrow. I glared at him,

'If you raise your bloody eyebrow again, I'm going to impale you. Stop being better at it than me…' I pouted, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. He laughed softly and murmured a brief apology before lifting my legs so they rested around his waist, closing the door and leading me to the bed, kissing me all the while.

**A/N: I know I ask constantly, but I really would like you to review this chapter. I personally think that it's one of the best and I wrote it all in under two hours so that you guys could read it especially. I would like an exceptional amount of reviews to brighten my day, please? **

**All my love,**

**BelikovsRoza1697 xxx**


	30. The End

**A/N: I have been tied up with homework and my other stories outside of FanFic, so I apologise for the late update. This is the very last chapter of my story, I'd like to thank all those who reviewed and added me to alerts and favourites. It is appreciated greatly. I will be writing other stories, but not for some time, as I will be busier in the future. You won't hear from me much, but watch this space, I'll be back! :) **

_He laughed softly and murmured a brief apology before lifting my legs so they rested around his waist, closing the door and leading me to the bed, kissing me all the while. _

Once we woke up in the morning, Dimitri took me out for breakfast and we spent the morning as a normal couple who were obviously deeply in love. After leaving the restaurant where we ate, he took my hand and led me to the nearby park. I seated myself on the lush green grass, crossing my legs elegantly. Dimitri sat beside me, pausing for a moment to admire the view of the trees, whose leaves were glinting as the sun hit their bedewed surfaces. I smiled at his mildly awed expression, a rarity for him. It was a similar look to the passionate one he gave me whenever I caught his eye. I leant forward and placed my hand on his back. He turned around, meeting my eyes and smiling. I unfolded my legs and scooted up closer to him. I lay my head on his shoulder and he raised his hand to commence stroking my hair, lovingly.

'Roza…' he murmured, almost inaudibly. He didn't continue, but it still brought a grin to my face. That nickname became the key to pleasuring me and I could barely go a day without needing to hear him call me that. I sighed and pressed my forehead deeper into the crook of his neck. I felt his arm slide around my waist and pull me on top of him. I tried to raise an eyebrow, failing as usual,

'Even though sex in the park is tempting, I doubt your fellow Russians would appreciate it…' I whispered, seductively. He shook his head in an exasperated manner. He pulled me even closer to him and lay down on the grass. I lay above him, on his chest, feeling his every breath and heartbeat. And God, was he comforting. He was the main reason that this holiday was so amazing.

'That's an excellent idea, Roza, but you do have a point. Though…' he kissed my forehead, leaving his lips on my head a little longer than necessary, 'I might make an exception for you. As always, you look beautiful...' he murmured in my ear, kissing my collarbone. I sighed happily and leant up to kiss his jawline.

'Thank you… I do, after all, need to be to actually look moderately normal beside you…' I said, smiling. He frowned,

'What do you mean?'

'You're so mind-blowingly gorgeous, I'd look strange standing next to you as I am. I'm not beautiful enough to make the cut.' I explained and there was a small silence. I felt a little awkward at his silence. Sighing with an annoyed tone, Dimitri pulled me so I lay exactly on top of him. I gasped quietly at the sudden movement and he rolled his eyes,

'You know that's not true, Roza…' he moved his calloused hands into my hair and pulled my face to his, kissing me with an explosive passion. I felt a million emotions surge through my soul at that moment; love and lust were most dominant. This was more euphoric than a Moroi and Strigoi bite combined. Dimitri's bite was a distant memory to me now that I had the dhampir version back. I kissed him back, slipping my tongue into his mouth. He lowered his hand from my hair, resting it on the small of my back. I shifted my legs so that I straddled him and he sat up, not breaking our kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him to me tightly. My legs folded around him, leaving me totally attached to him. I was taking no chances here, he wasn't going _anywhere_.

Dimitri was clearly as into it as I was, as he let his other hand drift to the hem of my shirt. He slipped it under my top, massaging my stomach and back, making me moan into his mouth. He kissed me back with a furious passion, as if this kiss would be our last, which it wouldn't be, in any way, shape or form. I pulled back and proceeded to kiss down his neck. I felt the muscles in his face move as he smiled in pleasure. I copied his actions, lowering my hands to the bottom of his shirt, pushing them up his bare back. His warm, tanned skin was soft to the touch and my semi-cold hands made him shiver slightly. I stopped kissing his neck and pulled back to look at his face. He raised an eyebrow, damn him, leaning forward to kiss my cheek. He sighed, grinning and removed his hands. My torso instantly regretted the loss of his touch and I pouted. His grin increased and he suddenly yanked me up to stand with him. Before I could enquire as to what he was doing, he lifted my legs from under me and brought me into the comfort of his arms. I grinned and leaned forward to connect our lips. He began to walk back to our room, kissing me all the way.

Arriving in the lobby, Dimitri put me down and I winked at Galina. She laughed as he lifted me up again. I hooked my legs around his waist and he led me to the elevator. The doors closed and he pushed me up against the wall, kissing me with an equally ferocious passion. I smiled against his lips, not able to contain myself in a ladylike manner. Then it occurred to me that I wasn't exactly the poster child for elegance, so I threw my entire being into the kiss and embrace. Dimitri sensed the change in me and almost ran out of the elevator when it stopped at our floor. He managed to unlock and open the door without breaking his hold on me and once we were inside, he kicked the door closed. Returning his attention to me, he pushed me onto the bed, quickly undoing my shirt buttons and throwing my top aside. His grip on me tightened and he hugged me closer. I heard a small buzzing as my cell got a text message. I pulled back and replaced my shirt. I grinned,

'Sorry…' I stood up and saw that the text was from Lissa. She requested that we come back to her as soon as possible, because she had 'some news'. I sighed and showed Dimitri. He shrugged,

'We had to go home some time. Come on, let's catch the next flight. Go and pack…' he whispered, kissing my forehead and heading to the bathroom to collect his things. I rolled my eyes at Lissa, could she have picked a worse time? I sighed and complied with Dimitri's wish, packing and closing my suitcase.

A couple of hours into the flight, Dimitri murmured something in my ear. Unfortunately, I was half-asleep so I didn't hear.

'What was that?' I asked, yawning. He rolled his eyes, laughing softly,

'I said, what do you think Lissa's news is?'

'I don't know. Have you got any ideas?' I answered, laying my head on his chest. He sighed,

'No idea…'

I walked through the Court gates with Dimitri in tow; he helpfully carried all the bags for me. Lissa was standing with Christian beside her. She was chewing her nails in an agitated manner and I noticed that she was tapping her feet against the road, impatiently.

'Rose!' she called, rushing to me. She hugged me tightly and I noticed she was wearing baggier clothes than normal. I pulled back,

'What's the news, Liss?' I enquired, putting a hand on the small of her back and guiding her inside, to the protection of the wards.

'I…' she stopped and Christian came forward, embracing her and kissing her forehead. Whatever it was that was wrong, it was bad, very bad.

'Lissa, tell her, go on. Remember, what had happened is a blessing…' Christian murmured in her ear and I almost fell over at his words. A _blessing_? Seriously, what drug was he on? Christian never used phrasing like 'a blessing'. He sounded like a concerned priest. I walked forward and met Lissa's worried eyes, sending a message of comfort to her.

'Yeah, Lissa, tell me. I'm not going to judge you…' I smiled encouragingly and she nodded, sniffing.

'Okay… here goes… I'm pregnant…' she smiled with pride as she said it and I grinned,

'Liss! That's amazing!' I hugged her tightly and lifted her shirt up a tiny bit, noticing her small baby bump.

'I know, I'm just really scared…' she whispered, frowning. I nodded,

'Understandable, but don't worry, you've got me, Dimitri and, most importantly, Christian to help you through it all…' I felt a twinge of regret, remembering how I could never provide Dimitri with a baby. Pushing that aside for now, I smiled at Lissa and she took Christian's hand. Christian leant forward and muttered,

'Rose, Lissa and I need to go to the clinic. She refused to go until you knew…' he rolled his eyes and I laughed softly. Lissa was oblivious, but she didn't mind. Yanking on Christian's arm, she led him off, leaving Dimitri and I to our own company. There was silence between us and I saw Dimitri's eyes. They were distant, I recognised that look. He was thinking, in fact, he was in such deep thought that he hadn't noticed that two of our number had left. I shook his arm gently, taking one of my bags and leading him to my room. He was still silent, even when I kissed his lips softly. I pulled back and sighed,

'What is it?'

'Nothing.'

'Bullshit.'

'It is nothing of the sort…' he replied, folding his arms.

'It's her pregnancy, right? You're remembering that we can't have kids? I know, I thought that too.' I turned around, suddenly losing my happy attitude to Lissa's good fortune. I walked to my suitcase, commencing in unpacking. There was an uncomfortable silence between us for at least a few minutes.

'What's wrong, Roza?' he called, when I was out of the room, in the bathroom. I stormed back in and glared at him,

'I feel like an inadequate, that's what's wrong! You're an idiot; you should have gone to be Tasha's guardian. She offers you service, friendship _and_ kids!' I sat on my bed, my hands roughly pulling at the knots in my hair. Tears streamed down my face and I spoke, my voice breaking several times,

'It's… it's not like I'd get pregnant at 18. I just want to have a baby… with you… it's a stupid, impossible wish, but I beg for it every second of ever moment of every day!' I choked out and I ran a shaking hand over my face, trying to remove the stray traitor tears.

'You really think that? You think I should have gone to Tasha instead? Do you _want_ me to?' Dimitri sounded utterly appalled and I looked up, my mascara most likely covering my face.

'Yes, you should. You'll have a better life. Little children surrounding you, working for your best friend; whatever floats your boat…' I whispered, my voice shaky. He rolled his eyes and came to kneel before me, taking my tear-dampened hands in his. He kissed my hands and shook his head,

'I'll never leave you. If I can't have kids with you, I don't care. I'd rather be childless with you than have children with someone I don't love. You are the only person I love on this earth. Don't ever doubt that…' he spoke sharply and I bit my lip.

'You don't care that I can't provide you with kids? But I know you love them…?' I questioned and he nodded,

'Sure, maybe I do. But I'd sacrifice it for you. Hell, I'd sacrifice my life for yours. I _love_ you…' he leant forward and kissed me passionately, making me forget my woes. He pulled back and leant his head against mine,

'Okay? Are we good now?' he asked and I nodded, smirking. He whispered a few words in my ear and my heart leapt,

'How about we finish what we started…?' i nodded, grabbing his hands and pulling him onto the bed.

Ah sweet, sweet bliss.

**A/N: The end! Looks like I didn't make it to 300, but oh well, can't be helped. Thanks again,**

**xxx**

**BelikovsRoza1697**


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